A Republican-led committee in the US House of Representatives said Tuesday it had released more than 33,000 pages of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender who died by suicide in prison in 2019, Reuters reported.
The disclosure, which included audio recordings from a Florida investigation and video of apparent victim interviews, was presented as a move to end efforts by a bipartisan group of lawmakers seeking a formal vote on the matter.
Epstein’s case has remained politically sensitive, particularly for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, as conspiracy theories about Epstein’s connections and death continue to circulate widely among his supporters.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll in July found that most Americans — including a majority of Republicans — believe the government is withholding information about Epstein.
Despite the scale of the release, most of the files consist of court records and materials that had already been made public.
"Nearly everything Republicans just supposedly 'released' ... has already been released," said Democratic US Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts in a post on X.
Republican US Representative Thomas Massie and Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, have proposed a measure that would require the Justice Department to release all of its unclassified Epstein records, including those held by the FBI and US attorneys' offices.
Massie and Khanna will hold a press conference with Epstein victims on Wednesday morning. Massie told the Axios news outlet on Tuesday that he would push ahead despite the latest document release.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Massie's petition was "inartfully drafted" because it lacked language that would protect the identities of victims who were sexually abused by Epstein.
Johnson also said the petition is "moot" due to the work of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which released thousands of pages of files.
"It's superfluous at this point, and I think we're achieving the desired end here," Johnson said.
The materials released on Tuesday included at least eight videos of apparent police interviews with victims. Several of the interviews are timestamped from 2005 and 2006.
In one video, a girl whose appearance and name are edited out said Epstein paid her $350 for a massage and sex when she was 17 years old.
"He has the girls take off their clothes and give him a massage," she said in the 17-minute video.
Other records include audio recordings from the criminal investigation of Epstein in Florida, including what appeared to be an interview with a victim whose name and date of birth were edited out.
The committee has subpoenaed the DOJ and Epstein's estate for documents and convicted Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell for a deposition.
