McGovern Hammers Comer Over Epstein Files Dump – ‘97% of Which Is Already Out in Public’
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) dismissed the release of a batch of files relating to deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, claiming that the vast bulk of the information was already public.
On Tuesday, the House Oversight Committee, which is chaired by Rep. James Comer (R-KY), released 33,000 documents. The committee said the Department of Justice provided the documents, which were redacted to conceal the names of victims and sexually explicit material.
Comer testified before the House Rules Committee on Tuesday, where McGovern asked about the looming documents dump.
“What you’re telling us is you’re gonna release some of the files tonight,” McGovern said. “If I heard [Rep. Robert] Garcia [D-CA] correctly, 97% of which is already out in public. So, we get three percent that’s new? I don’t know what it’s gonna say. But I just don’t understand what the big deal is. Why can’t the administration just release the files? You could do the investigation, but just release all the files. You know? Trump and the people he put in charge of the FBI and the DOJ promised that they would. And it’s just kinda strange that they haven’t done so yet. I mean, don’t you think? We just wanna know, what are they trying to hide? Why is this such a difficult thing for them to do?”
Later, McGovern asked Comer about supporting a resolution that would force the Department of Justice to release all files it has about Epstein.
The Republican dodged and accused McGovern of “trying to politicize this” by backing a “stunt.”
“It doesn’t have the force of the law,” Comer shot back. “It’s just a political stunt.”
The Department of Justice said in July it would not release the Epstein files, sparking a firestorm of backlash among conservatives who believed President Donald Trump would release all the files and implicate prominent figures in Epstein’s child sex trafficking. After Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed Epstein’s client list was “sitting on my desk,” the DOJ now denies there was such a list.
Trump was friends with Epstein and allegedly sent him a birthday message in 2003, though the president denies doing so and is suing The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on it.
