Republicans on the House Oversight Committee have released a jaw-dropping report exposing the government failures that allowed convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein to abuse young women for decades.
The committee, led by Kentucky Republican James Comer, dropped a report on Tuesday following a sweeping 15-month investigation that included 19 interviews and depositions, financial records, and documents obtained from the Justice Department and Epstein’s estate.
In a statement, Comer declared that ‘the federal government has failed the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell‘s horrific crimes for decades.’
Comer also noted that ‘Epstein operated with impunity, shielded and enabled by powerful connections and a justice system that repeatedly failed his victims.
‘Governments at every level and powerful institutions must meet their legal obligations to identify these crimes, stop perpetrators, and deliver justice for survivors,’ Comer added.
Robert Garcia, the top-ranking Democrat on the Oversight Committee, said that the report was released ‘based on an incomplete investigation and zero public hearings on Jeffrey Epstein.’ He also noted that the work ‘is just getting started,’ and that he intends ‘to hold real public hearings uplifting survivors and asking tough questions of the powerful men who associated with Epstein, including Donald Trump.’
The investigators’ most damning findings centered on how federal authorities repeatedly failed Epstein’s victims, allowing the disgraced financier to escape serious consequences despite mounting allegations of sexual abuse.
Notably, the committee did not find any materials to tie President Donald Trump to Epstein’s crimes, despite what the Republicans called an ‘obsession’ by Democrats to try to ‘implicate President Trump and insinuate that he was involved in the crimes of Epstein and Maxwell.’
James Comer speaks to the media on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC in March
Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein
The Republican handling of the Epstein investigation was one reason for working-class men being turned off of supporting the GOP due to their handling of the Epstein files investigation in the midterms.
Among those on the MAGA right, the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files drew fury, as encapsulated by podcaster Joe Rogan, who called it ‘a line in the sand’ and accused the administration of ‘trying to gaslight’ the electorate.
Democrats believed that the Epstein issue is resonating with working-class voters and in Kansas launched ads accusing Republican senator Roger Marshall of ‘protecting pedophiles’ with his votes in Congress, and being a member of the ‘Epstein class.’
In Florida, the party spent big running a 30-second ad during Game 3 of the World Series, featuring an Epstein survivor accusing Republican Senator Ashley Moody of ‘voting to protect the man who abused me.’
Men overall backed Democrats in the 2026 midterms by a narrow margin of 50 to 47.
Over the course of the months-long investigation, Republicans and Democrats alike were brought in to testify before Congress about their knowledge, or lack thereof, of Epstein’s crimes.
Nineteen of the twenty individuals whom the Committee sought to speak with appeared before lawmakers. The list is as follows, and contains many notable names.
Billionaire Leon Black defied two congressional subpoenas and refused to testify about Epstein
Leon Black
The only individual who did not appear before the committee was Leon Black, who paid Epstein roughly $158 million to $170 million between 2012 and 2017 for tax, estate planning, and related services.
Back in September, a bipartisan group of lawmakers voted unanimously to hold Black in contempt of Congress.
Bill and Hillary Clinton
The investigation also set a new precedent as a former president, Bill Clinton, appeared before the committee in a closed-door deposition near his home in Chappaqua, New York, as did his wife, former First Lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Republican witnesses were also called in during the investigation, including current and former Trump administration officials.
Howard Lutnick
Trump’s current Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sat for a transcribed interview during which the committee confirmed that the two had a meeting in Epstein’s foyer in 2011, as well as a 2012 lunch with Lutnick’s family on Little St. James.
Pam Bondi
The first Attorney General of Trump’s second term, Pam Bondi, also appeared before the committee. Bondi claimed in February of 2025 that she had the whole ‘Epstein client list,’ sitting on her desk, but then ‘sent a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel requesting all remaining Epstein files be produced to the DOJ,’ as she feared not all relevant files had been sent over.
Bill Barr
Bill Barr, who served as Attorney General during Trump’s first term in 2019 and 2020, was deposed as well. The investigation found that Barr discussed the Epstein case only at a broad level and was never deeply involved.
Bill Gates
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates came to Capitol Hill for a transcribed interview as well, and saw fallout from his involvement with Epstein.
Hillary and Bill Clinton were both interviewed by lawmakers during the course of the Epstein Investigation
Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft sat through an interview with the House Oversight Committee investigating convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in June
Gates admitted to cheating on his ex-wife, Melinda, and claimed Epstein tried to weaponize the affairs against him during a bombshell congressional grilling back in June.
Gates was hauled before Congress after photos and emails in the Epstein files exposed startling new depths to his former friendship with the financier.
In the report released Tuesday, Comer and fellow Republicans also urged the Department of Justice to conduct further investigations into Epstein’s associates.
The DOJ is encouraged to reinterview key witnesses and also give victims access to unredacted versions of their personal files and records.
Comer and fellow Republicans are also asking the DOJ to further scrutinize Epstein’s former assistant Lesley Groff, as well as former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine and celebrity hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai.
Both Levine and Fekkai were accused of sexual misconduct by another longtime Epstein assistant and survivor, Sarah Kellen, in her interview with the Oversight Committee.
