Days before House lawmakers return to Washington after a six-week summer break, the top Republican on the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed the estate of Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier, seeking documents for the committee’s review of the federal government’s investigation.
In the subpoena, the congressman, James E. Comer of Kentucky, demanded financial records, Mr. Epstein’s will, video recordings from his many residences and calendar entries detailing his meetings and dinners with famous people. Some of that information has already been released.
Mr. Comer also requested the now infamous “birthday book,” a leather-bound collection of tributes from Mr. Epstein’s friends compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell, his longtime associate, to celebrate his 50th birthday. President Trump has denied signing a note for the book or providing a drawing, and he sued The Wall Street Journal for defamation after it reported on his contributions to the book.
In July, months after Attorney General Pam Bondi promised new revelations in the case, the Justice Department and the F.B.I. concluded that their investigation had ended without the long-sought “client list” for Mr. Epstein, who was accused of sex trafficking. That triggered outrage from some of Mr. Trump’s most ardent supporters, who said they smelled a cover-up, even if they did not agree on who was involved or why. Most lawyers involved with the case have said there is no client list.
Mr. Comer, a staunch Trump ally, was also forced to send a subpoena to the government seeking more documents, after several Republicans joined Democrats in voting to approve it at a subcommittee meeting last month.
The subpoena to the executors of Mr. Epstein’s estate represents the first significant move to expand the House investigation beyond the so-called Epstein Files gathered by federal authorities. If the estate complies with the subpoena, it could bring a greater understanding of how Mr. Epstein amassed his wealth, which totaled about $600 million at the time of his death in 2019.
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