Top Oversight Dem Officially Asks Committee Call JD Vance, Other Top Trump Officials for Epstein Questioning

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, officially requested that Chairman James Comer (R-KY) call Vice President JD Vance and other top administration officials to give testimony about Jeffrey Epstein.

Garcia called on Comer to “take immediate efforts” to have nine members of the administration answer questions, claiming in a letter addressed to the chairman that the move was due to the new revelations about President Donald Trump’s administration’s handling of the Epstein files revealed in a new excerpt from a book by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan.

“On Wednesday, the New York Times published explosive details on the Trump Administration’s work to cover up the Epstein files. The reporting reveals that officials at the highest level of the Administration worked tirelessly to deflect attention from the longstanding relationship between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, hide crucial information from the American people, and plan and coordinate a White House coverup,” wrote Garcia.

The individuals named in Garcia’s list include Vance, who the book excerpt claims pitched that Tucker Carlson interview Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell in prison.

“Critically, reporting reveals that Vice President Vance appears to have been central to the strategy discussions surrounding the release of Epstein information, describing the attention on Jeffrey Epstein as ‘a huge problem,'” Garcia’s letter read, adding of the Carlson idea that “this belief appears to be directly linked to a potential quid pro quo in which Maxwell was moved to a minimum security prison camp in exchange for providing favorable statements about President Trump.”

Others named by Garcia are also directly mentioned in the book excerpt, like White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, who was allegedly present along with a slew of Trump’s other top staff during meetings in the Situation Room to discuss Epstein.

Garcia also cheered Comer’s recent choice to call acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to sit for an interview, underscoring that it “must be conducted under oath and filmed for release to the public.” Garcia previously slammed Republicans for failing to swear in former Attorney General Pam Bondi under oath at a Friday hearing on her handling of the Epstein files.

“The New York Times reporting is yet another demonstration that the Trump Administration is strictly opposed to transparency and, instead, has chosen to engage in a coverup of the Epstein files to protect Donald Trump,” wrote Garcia in closing. “All of those involved must provide answers to this Committee, and we cannot support the continued withholding of answers about Jeffrey Epstein from the American people.”

Read the full list of individuals named in Garcia’s letter below:

• J.D. Vance, Vice President of the United States;
• Susie Wiles, White House Chief of Staff;
• Tyler Budowich, White House Deputy Chief of Staff;
• James Blair, White House Deputy Chief of Staff;
• Karoline Leavitt, Press Secretary;
• Steven Cheung, Communications Director;
• Kash Patel, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI);
• Dan Bongino, former Deputy Director of the FBI; and
• Stanley Woodward, Jr., Associate Attorney General.

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