US House panel releases 33 000 pages of Epstein files

A US congressional panel has released a trove of documents related to the federal investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.The House Oversight Committee published 33 295 pages, including flight logs, jail surveillance video, court filings, audio recordings, and emails.However, Republicans and Democrats alike said the files contained little new information, and it is unclear whether the Justice Department is withholding other Epstein records.Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Republican, ordered the documents to be published online on Tuesday.The Republican-led panel received the files after issuing a legal summons to the Department of Justice last month.But Comer, a Kentucky congressman, acknowledged there was little fresh information."As far as I can see, there's nothing new in the documents," he told NBC News.Missing minuteThe videos released on Tuesday include footage from outside Epstein's New York jail cell on the night of his death.It includes 13 hours and 41 seconds of video from the facility covering the evening of 9 August to the morning of 10 August 2019, when Epstein died.This is two hours more of video footage than what the Justice Department released two months ago.But the newly released footage does not include the so-called "missing minute" - a jump in the timecode between 23:00 and 00:00, according to the BBC's US partner CBS.Attorney General Pam Bondi previously said the "missing minute" was just the jail's camera system resetting each night.However, the apparent anomaly had stoked conspiracy theories about the official finding that Epstein died by suicide.The convicted paedophile had once hobnobbed with the likes of Trump, former President Bill Clinton and British royal Prince Andrew.The tranche of documents also includes several clips from 2006 showing interviews with people who said they were victims of Epstein.Their faces are blurred and names removed from the audio as they talk about alleged sexual abuse while they were hired for massages.Bipartisan effortOther videos show bodycam footage from police in Palm Beach, Florida, as they search a home belonging to Epstein.Some of the documents date back 20 years, covering an initial criminal investigation into Epstein launched by Palm Beach police.But Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement: "To the American people – don't let this fool you."After careful review, Oversight Democrats have found that 97% of the documents received from the Department of Justice were already public."There is no mention of any client list or anything that improves transparency or justice for victims."Democratic congresswoman Summer Lee said the "only new disclosure" was flight logs taken by US Customs and Border Protection, which show Epstein's travel to and from his private island in the US Virgin Islands.The release came after backbench Republican rebel Thomas Massie forged ahead on Tuesday with a bipartisan effort to force the House to vote on a bill requiring the Justice Department to publish all of its Epstein files within 30 days.The Kentucky congressman said, "People want these files released. Look, it's not the biggest issue in the country."It's taxes, jobs, the economy, those are always the big issues. But you really can't solve any of that if this place is corrupt."Earlier on Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, and members of the oversight committee met six Epstein victims behind closed doors.Johnson, a Trump ally, told reporters afterwards that "there were tears in the room" as they heard from the Epstein victims.

US House panel releases 33 000 pages of Epstein files

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Namibian Sun 2026-05-18

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US House panel releases 33 000 pages of Epstein files

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Namibian Sun 2026-05-18

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