House report says federal government failed Epstein victims

The Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee released a report Tuesday concluding that the federal government mishandled the criminal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. The panel found that the justice system repeatedly failed survivors and allowed the convicted sex offender to operate with impunity due to powerful connections. Committee Chair James Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, stated that Epstein was shielded and enabled by these ties and a flawed justice system.

The report details 15 months of work involving interviews with 19 individuals. Witnesses included former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Many of these interviews took place behind closed doors, with transcripts made public days later. The committee noted that appearing in the Department of Justice files or before the panel does not automatically indicate criminal wrongdoing.

The investigation found no evidence that President Donald Trump was implicated in Epstein's crimes. The report accused Democrats of launching an unfounded witch hunt by trying to insinuate Trump's involvement. Trump has long maintained he fell out with Epstein before the 2006 indictment for soliciting prostitution. In February, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told NPR that Trump is totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein.

The report places the next steps in the hands of the Department of Justice. It states that the agency needs to interview or re-interview witnesses and investigate crimes committed by Epstein's associates. Only Ghislaine Maxwell, an associate of Epstein, has been charged and sentenced to prison so far. In June, the committee interviewed Sarah Kellen, a longtime assistant who identified as a survivor. Kellen revealed the names of two men in her testimony, which the committee sent to the DOJ for further investigation. The DOJ has not yet announced investigations into those two men.

The report criticizes federal prosecutors in South Florida and Washington for failures that allowed Epstein's crimes after 2005 to continue. His 2008 conviction for soliciting sex from girls as young as 14 has long been called a sweetheart deal. Epstein served 13 months in Palm Beach County Jail with a 12-hour work release during the day. He was also required to register as a sex offender. The panel said Epstein's far-reaching connections shielded him from deeper scrutiny. Rep. Tim Burchett, a Republican from Tennessee, called Epstein a friend collector after Bill Gates appeared before the committee in June.

The report also found that Trump's Justice Department did not adequately communicate about the release of the Epstein files or protect survivors' personal information. This release followed the passage of the Epstein Transparency Act in 2025, which led to the publication of millions of pages of documents. Large portions were redacted, but the identities of many survivors were exposed. Additionally, the report says some financial institutions failed to act on signs of human trafficking and immigration fraud. It recommends that the Treasury Department and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network review whether these institutions are meeting reporting responsibilities.

In a statement Tuesday, the DOJ said Attorney General Todd Blanche has repeatedly stated that the Epstein case is not closed and that there is no statute of limitations on human trafficking. The department said the committee chair's recommendations have already been addressed and that the DOJ will continue following investigative leads. It encouraged victims with evidence to reach out to the FBI. The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Democrats will take control of the House in January, with Rep. Robert Garcia of California expected to lead the committee. Garcia criticized the report as partisan on Tuesday. He said the investigation was incomplete and lacked public hearings. Garcia stated that his panel intends to hold real public hearings to uplift survivors and ask tough questions of powerful men who associated with Epstein, including Donald Trump. In September, the House held billionaire investor Leon Black in contempt of Congress for defying two subpoenas. Black paid Epstein millions of dollars between 2013 and 2017 for tax and estate planning services. He has sued the committee and Comer to invalidate the subpoenas and sued Garcia for defamation.