House Oversight Republicans say Epstein's later crimes could have been prevented without federal failures

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee released a 137-page report on Tuesday, Nov. 10, on how the federal government handled the criminal investigations of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. It follows a 15-month investigation led by committee chairman James Comer of Kentucky. The committee concludes that Epstein's crimes after 2005 could have been prevented without failures by investigators and prosecutors in South Florida and Washington.

It faults a 2007 non-prosecution agreement that let him avoid federal charges. It says the Justice Department communicated poorly about document releases and that deficient redactions exposed survivors' information. It also says financial institutions failed to act on signs of human trafficking and immigration fraud.

The report urges the Justice Department to interview or re-interview key witnesses, probe Epstein associates accused of crimes, and give survivors access to their records. It asks Congress to pass a bill to stop nondisclosure agreements from being used to silence survivors. The report says it found no documents implicating President Trump and accuses Democrats of an "unfounded witch hunt."

Robert Garcia, the committee's top Democrat, says the report rests on an incomplete investigation and zero public hearings. He accuses the Justice Department of illegally withholding over 2.5 million pages. A Justice Department spokesperson said the recommendations have already been addressed.

Democrats take over the committee in January, and Garcia says they intend to hold public hearings.