The long wait for the Epstein files may soon be over.
A top House Republican said Tuesday his committee plans to upload 34,000 pages of government documents on the investigation into sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and make them available to the public.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer made the pledge after meeting in the Capitol with half a dozen women who were victimized in Epstein’s sex trafficking.
The documents will be made public “as quick as we can get them uploaded,” the Kentucky Republican said.
Mr. Comer and other members of the committee met privately with the women amid a bipartisan push in the House to force the release of the files.
A pair of lawmakers planned to try to force a vote on a measure to compel the Justice Department to release all of the documents related to their investigation of Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Democrats say the Justice Department is concealing the files to protect possible wrongdoing by President Trump, who was friends with Epstein.
Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking. Epstein died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting prosecution for sex trafficking crimes.
Maxwell, in an extensive interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche earlier this summer, said she “never witnessed the president in any inappropriate setting in any way,” and that Mr. Trump “was a gentleman in all respects.”
Victims balked at the Justice Department decision to work with Maxwell, who is seeking to have her conviction thrown out and is also vying for Mr. Trump to award her clemency.
The women who met with lawmakers plan to hold a press conference Wednesday on Capitol Hill.
Mr. Comer said he also plans to interview Maxwell.
A federal judge earlier this month denied the Justice Department’s request to unseal grand jury transcripts from the case against Epstein, calling the request by the DOJ “a diversion” from the trove of files the government has in its possession and could release to the public.
Rep. Thomas Massie, Kentucky Republican, said he will file a measure that would force the release of the files. It’s co-sponsored with Rep. Ro Khanna, California Democrat.
“At that point, we can begin collecting the 218 signatures necessary to force a vote on binding legislation to release the Epstein files,” Mr. Massie said on X.
The bill would require Attorney General Pam Bondi to release all documents and records in possession of the DOJ relating to Epstein.
Mr. Massie and Mr. Khanna are planning on keeping up the pressure on lawmakers by holding a news conference on Wednesday on the steps of the U.S. Capitol with Epstein victims, including people who have never shared their stories.
But Mr. Comer plans to upload the documents and interview additional witnesses to find out more about who victimized the women.
“We are moving as quickly as we can,” Mr. Comer said, adding that he plans to examine bank statements for illegal activity that could help hold accountable the men who victimized the women.
“We are going to follow the money,” Mr. Comer said.
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.