A Republican-majority report from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform urges the Justice Department (DOJ) to reinterview witnesses, investigate Epstein-related allegations and give survivors unredacted records, extending scrutiny of the case.
The committee said its 15-month review drew on financial records, files from DOJ and Epstein’s estate, and transcripts of 19 interviews and depositions. House Oversight Chairman James Comer said the federal government had failed survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell for decades. The report attributes Epstein’s prolonged impunity to failures by investigators and prosecutors, his wealth and connections, and institutions’ failure to act on warning signs.
The panel recommends further questioning Epstein assistant Lesley Groff and a DOJ investigation of allegations Sarah Kellen made against former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine and French hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai. The report presents the allegations as matters for investigation, not findings of guilt. It also calls for survivors and their representatives to have a way to obtain personal records without redactions.
The report reviews a 2007 non-prosecution agreement involving the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges in 2008 and received an 18-month sentence. He served 13 months with work-release privileges, according to the report.
The committee says financial institutions repeatedly identified transactions and activities that carried heightened compliance risks but did not address them adequately. In some cases, it says, suspicious activity was reported years after Epstein’s 2019 arrest. The report asks the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to review whether institutions are meeting suspicious-activity reporting requirements.
The report also alleges American Express agents allowed Epstein to use dummy or refundable itineraries to move foreign women across borders. Groff testified that she recalled one decoy flight and said it was not arranged to obtain a visa.
ABC News reported that a DOJ spokesperson said the chairman’s recommendations had already been addressed, citing an FBI process for victims and their representatives to obtain personal files. The spokesperson also said the department would continue following investigative leads. ABC News reported that committee Democrats called the report incomplete and planned to continue the inquiry in the next Congress.
The committee urges Congress to pass the Survivor’s Voice Protection Act, which it says would allow survivors to speak about abuse despite confidentiality agreements.
