Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and every Oversight Democrat demanded Oversight Republicans hold a hearing with Attorney General Pam Bondi to examine the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) botched release of the Epstein files, and the Department's failure to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act and the subpoena issued by the Oversight Committee in August. The letter follows a successful Democratic effort to subpoena three key Epstein Associates: client and benefactor Les Wexner, Epstein personal accountant Richard Kahn, and Epstein’s personal attorney Darren Indyke.
“Let’s be clear: Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice are breaking the law every single day the Epstein files are kept from the public. It is deeply unsettling how the Department continues to disregard both the Epstein Files Transparency Act and the subpoena issued by the Oversight Committee. There is clearly no concern for the law or the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein. Pam Bondi must face Congress for questioning now. We will use every tool at our disposal to fight for justice and transparency,” said Ranking Member Robert Garcia.
In the letter, the lawmakers wrote, “According to public reporting, the materials that DOJ has produced to date pursuant to the statute amount to less than 1 percent of the totality of the Epstein files. Compounding concerns about the extremely slow pace of DOJ’s production, the Department has made repeatedly shifting statements about the total volume of Epstein files in its possession. DOJ announced last month that it had discovered a new tranche of more than one million potentially relevant documents within the agency, and only a week later was reported to have been trying to recruit DOJ staff to review 5.2 million pages of responsive documents. This past Monday, DOJ provided yet a different figure to a federal district court, reporting that “there are more than 2 million documents potentially responsive to the Act that are in various phases of review.” This Committee and the American people require clarity from DOJ as to whether these reports are accurate, and if so, why the existence of these millions of additional pages was not disclosed previously, especially given that the Epstein files have been in DOJ’s possession for years, and were called for by a Committee subpoena issued over four months ago.”
###