Earlier this month, the House Oversight Committee issued a subpoena for the Department of Justice to turn over all relevant records related to the late convicted pedophile and financier Jeffrey Epstein, and those files are supposed to be handed over by the end of the week.
It has now been reported that the Committee intends to make those Epstein records public as soon as practicable, with as few redactions as necessary, according to Breitbart.
The Committee’s move stems from the bipartisan fury that erupted among Congress, the media, and the American people after the DOJ asserted in July that an internal review of the files had uncovered no evidence of blackmail of high-profile elitist figures or a “client list,” and that Epstein had killed himself in a New York City jail cell in 2019.
DOJ’s Epstein records subpoenaed by Congress
In an August 5 press release, the House Oversight Committee announced that it had issued a subpoena for the DOJ to release to Congress all records related to the Epstein case, including all relevant communications about Epstein between the DOJ and the White House, with only the personally identifiable information about victims and child sex abuse material being redacted.
The original deadline for the Epstein files to be turned over to the Committee was Tuesday, August 19, but an extension until the end of the week was granted by Chairman James Comer (R-KY) on Monday.
“Officials with the Department of Justice have informed us that the Department will begin to provide Epstein-related records to the Oversight Committee this week on Friday,” Comer said in a statement.
“There are many records in DOJ’s custody, and it will take the Department time to produce all the records and ensure the identification of victims and any child sexual abuse material are redacted,” he continued.
The chairman added, “I appreciate the Trump Administration’s commitment to transparency and efforts to provide the American people with information about this matter.”
Committee plans to publicly release the Epstein files
On Tuesday, CBS News reported that a spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee confirmed that lawmakers planned to publicly release the Epstein files as soon as it was possible to do so.
“The Committee intends to make the records public after thorough review to ensure all victims’ identification and child sexual abuse material are redacted,” the spokesperson said.
They added, “The Committee will also consult with the DOJ to ensure any documents released do not negatively impact ongoing criminal cases and investigations.”
Committee also subpoenaed several former top officials
Meanwhile, along with the request for DOJ records related to Epstein, the House Oversight Committee also subpoenaed the Epstein-related testimony of eight top former DOJ officials, plus former President and first lady Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Those eight former officials, who are slated to deliver closed-door depositions to the committee between this week and mid-October, include former Attorneys General Alberto Gonzales, Eric Holder, Loretta Lynch, Jeff Sessions, Bill Barr, and Merrick Garland, as well as former FBI Directors Robert Mueller and James Comey.
It is unclear if the Committee also plans to publicly release transcripts of those interviews, when such a release might occur, or the level of redactions that may be for those documents.
The post Congressional committee plans to publicly release Epstein files subpoenaed from the DOJ appeared first on Conservative Institute.
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Author: Ben Marquis
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