Rep. Summer Lee successfully pushed through a motion Wednesday compelling the Justice Department to turn over Jeffrey Epstein-related files, securing bipartisan support in a House subcommittee despite Republican leadership’s resistance to the issue.
The Federal Law Enforcement Subcommittee approved the motion 8-2, with three Republicans joining all Democrats in a surprise vote that exposed divisions within the GOP over transparency regarding the Epstein case.
Rep. Lee, D-Pa., the subcommittee’s ranking member, introduced the motion during a hearing ostensibly focused on unaccompanied immigrant children, pivoting to challenge her Republican colleagues on their previous calls for Epstein file transparency.
The subpoena requires the Justice Department to provide the House Oversight Committee with all unredacted Epstein-related files, though victim names would be redacted. The materials would be reviewed internally by the committee, not released publicly.
Republican Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, and Brian Jack of Georgia broke ranks to support the measure, despite House Speaker Mike Johnson’s efforts to tamp down Epstein-related votes before Congress’s August recess.
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The GOP successfully amended Lee’s motion to also seek communications between Biden administration officials and the Justice Department regarding Epstein, including depositions from figures like Bill and Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey.
House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., must sign the subpoena before it can be officially issued, although timing remains unclear.
The vote came hours before the House departed for a monthlong break, with Johnson having shut down attempts to hold floor votes to avoid Epstein-related measures. The issue has roiled the Republican Party after the Trump Justice Department concluded last week that no Epstein “client list” exists.
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Lee quoted previous statements from committee Republicans calling for transparency, including Perry’s letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi stating, “The American People deserve answers and justice, particularly in matters involving grave allegations of criminality and misconduct by influential figures.”
This resolution is the most concrete congressional action yet on the Epstein files, separate from a bipartisan discharge petition effort by Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., that would force a public release.
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