The House Oversight Committee has issued nearly a dozen subpoenas to the Justice Department and high-profile Democratic and Republican figures for files and information related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a major move that comes as many congressional Republicans call for more transparency around the case.
The subpoena to the Justice Department calls for it to provide Congress any Epstein files in its possession, with victims’ names redacted. It also calls for communications between former Biden administration officials and the Justice Department related to the case.
The Republican-led panel additionally subpoenaed 10 individuals for closed-door depositions between August and mid-October. Those are: former Attorneys General Merrick Garland, William Barr, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder and Alberto Gonzales; former FBI Director James Comey; former special counsel and FBI Director Robert Mueller III; former Secretary of State and first lady Hillary Clinton; and former President Bill Clinton.
Subpoena deadlines are often starting points for negotiation on Capitol Hill and are sometimes pushed back, narrowed or challenged as political and legal disputes evolve around congressional inquiries.
The House has fought for years to bolster its ability to force executive branch officials to testify pursuant to subpoenas. But the courts have ultimately given little legal help to congressional committees, causing subpoena fights to drag out for years with no conclusive ability for the House to use the courts to enforce them quickly.
