WASHINGTON ― House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) announced Monday he’d sent a subpoena to the estate of late sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein that could uncover a 2003 book containing a bawdy note from President Donald Trump.
Comer’s new demand for documents is the latest development since the Trump administration said last month it would not release any of its investigatory files about Epstein, a former friend of President Donald Trump’s who died in prison after being charged with sex trafficking minors in 2019.
The Trump administration has scrambled to respond to backlash from Trump’s own base, dispatching a top Justice Department official to interview Epstein’s accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence but hoping for a pardon from Trump in exchange for favorable testimony.
Despite Trump dismissing the Epstein matter as a “Democrat hoax,” Republicans on Capitol Hill have pushed ahead with their subpoenas, which were initially authorized in a surprising bipartisan vote last month.
“It is imperative that Congress conduct oversight of the federal government’s enforcement of sex trafficking laws generally and specifically its handling of the investigation and prosecution of Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell,” Comer wrote in a cover letter accompanying the subpoena.
The letter indicated Epstein’s estate had already agreed to hand over documents if a subpoena was issued. It’s not clear what the documents might reveal, though Comer’s cover letter says “the estate of Mr. Epstein has access to documents relevant to the Committee’s investigation, including the alleged ‘birthday book’ prepared for Mr. Epstein by Ms. Maxwell.” The book reportedly includes an affectionate note from Trump that said, in part, “may every day be another wonderful secret.”
“After weeks of pressure from Oversight Democrats, Chairman Comer has finally issued a subpoena for Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous birthday book, which contains critical information about Epstein’s social network,” Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the committee’s top Democrat, said in a statement.
In response to a subpoena issued earlier this month, last week the Justice Department delivered a batch of files to Comer’s committee. Garcia said most of the material had previously been made public.
Comer said Monday that Alex Acosta, the federal prosecutor who declined to press charges against Epstein in 2007 in exchange for Epstein pleading guilty to state charges of soliciting prostitution, had voluntarily agreed to speak to the committee next month.
Former Attorney General William Barr, who oversaw the Justice Department when it secured an indictment against Epstein in 2019, spoke to Comer’s committee last week. Comer told reporters Barr said he wasn’t aware of any investigatory materials in the department’s possession implicating President Trump in Epstein’s crimes.
Other top justice officials, including former Attorneys General Alberto Gonzales, Eric Holder and Jeff Sessions, told the committee they have no information about the Epstein cases.