Epstein abuse survivor Lisa Phillips speaks during a press conference with lawmakers regarding the Epstein File Transparency Act outside the U.S. Capitol on November 18, 2025, in Washington, DC.
Heather Deal | Getty Images
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Tuesday released a report harshly critical of the handling of the federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
“For decades, the federal government has neglected the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s horrific crimes,” Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) said in a statement.
The report calls on the Justice Department to interview or re-interview “key witnesses” who provide information about Epstein’s sex trafficking of young women and girls, “to further investigate alleged criminal activity involving Epstein associates, and to provide survivors with unredacted access to their records.”
The report also called on Congress to pass a bill sponsored by Comer that would allow survivors of sexual abuse to speak freely about their sexual abuse, even if they have a non-disclosure agreement.
In addition to criticizing the federal government, the committee condemned the role played by various financial institutions in dealing with Epstein, who committed suicide in prison in August 2019 after being arrested on child prostitution charges.
“U.S. and foreign government officials failed to identify indicators of human trafficking and immigration fraud,” the commission said. “Institutions such as American Express enabled this operation, and company agents authorized Epstein to use fraudulent decoy flights, refundable itineraries, or dummy itineraries to transport foreign women directly across the border to their homes.”
Representative James Comer (R-Kentucky), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, speaks to reporters as Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates participates in a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on June 10, 2026.
Kent Nishimura | AFP | Getty Images
“Financial institutions possessed substantial information about Epstein’s criminal history and repeatedly identified transactions and activities that posed heightened compliance risks,” the committee said. “However, they were unable to adequately address these risks, and in some cases reported them years after Epstein’s arrest in 2019, due to Epstein’s connections, wealth, and influence.”
The committee called on the Treasury Department and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to investigate whether banks and other financial institutions are meeting their obligations to report activities that may indicate money laundering or human trafficking.
The committee has been investigating Mr. Epstein and Mr. Maxwell and their ties since last year.
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