A House subcommittee has decided to subpoena the Justice Department to produce documents related to the investigation into the sexual exploitation of Jeffrey Epstein.
Three Republicans on the House Oversight Committee voted with Democrats to approve the measure, passing it 8-2. Republican subcommittee Chairman Clay Higgins said work on the agenda text has already begun.
Earlier Wednesday, a judge denied a Justice Department request to release transcripts of Epstein grand jury investigations conducted years ago in Florida, saying the request did not meet any of the exceptions under federal law that allow disclosure. A parallel request for the records is still pending in New York.
News reports on Wednesday said the agency notified Donald Trump in May that his name appeared among high-ranking individuals in government files related to Epstein, even though the mention did not imply any wrongdoing.
Among the documents already released by the government is a 2016 deposition in which one accuser said she spent several hours with Epstein at Mr. Trump’s Atlantic City casino, but did not say whether she met with Mr. Trump or accuse him of any wrongdoing.
The president also noted that he once considered Epstein a “wonderful man,” but they later disagreed.
White House spokesman Steven Cheung said Wednesday that the reports were “nothing more than a continuation of the fake news created by Democrats and the liberal media.”
The subcommittee vote came hours before the House was set to end its July session and leave Washington for a month-long recess.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has delayed important House matters ahead of Congress' August recess to avoid contentious votes on Epstein-related issues as Mr. Trump's administration faces intense public pressure to disclose more information about the sexual predator.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
