Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes committed after 2005 could have been prevented, barring “repeated failures” by law enforcement and federal prosecutors. That’s one of the findings of a report released Tuesday by the House Oversight Committee after an investigation into the recently convicted sex offender and his associates.
“For far too long, Jeffrey Epstein acted with impunity, protected and facilitated by powerful connections and a justice system that failed the survivors of his crimes for decades,” the report said. “The United States should not be a haven for human or sex trafficking.”
LEARN MORE: Read the letter the top White House lawyer sent to Rep. Garcia following threats to investigate Trump.
Republicans on the committee released the 136-page document as a conclusion to their 15-month investigation into the federal government’s mishandling of cases involving Epstein and his former girlfriend and co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.
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Oversight Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said in a statement that the federal government had “failed survivors.”
“The evidence we uncovered makes it clear that the Justice Department must interview or re-interview key witnesses, investigate Epstein associates accused of criminal activity, and ensure survivors have access to their records,” Comer added.
As part of its investigation, the committee conducted 19 transcribed interviews or depositions with notable figures, including former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, former Attorney General Pam Bondi, two of Epstein’s former aides and a former prison guard who worked the night before the financier was found dead in his cell.
House Democrats, who will take over the committee in January, objected to the report’s release, calling it partisan, misleading and incomplete.
“Republican watchdogs have released a report based on an incomplete investigation and no public hearing on Jeffrey Epstein,” California Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia said in a statement.
Garcia pointed to millions of pages of documents that he says the Justice Department is illegally withholding, and called out Attorney General Todd Blanche for failing to testify before the committee “about his role in the largest government cover-up of the modern era.”
“We intend to hold real public hearings to uplift survivors and ask tough questions of powerful men associated with Epstein, including (President) Donald Trump,” Garcia said. “Our work has only just begun.”
The Republican report hit back at Democrats, saying they were “obsessed with implicating President Trump and insinuating that he was involved in the crimes of Epstein and Maxwell.”
Here are four key findings from the report.
Epstein ‘was not the only attacker’
Committee Republicans said they referred two Epstein associates to the Justice Department for further investigation based on testimony from Sarah Kellen, a former personal assistant to Epstein. She told lawmakers she was the target of his abuse because she managed the logistics of his relationships with girls and young women. She also described being sexually assaulted by the two associates.
LEARN MORE: Epstein’s former aide, Sarah Kellen, testified before the House committee. Here’s what we know
The report did not identify Epstein’s two associates.
In July 2025, the Justice Department said in an unsigned memo that federal investigators had uncovered no evidence that would warrant an investigation against people who had not been charged.
In its recommendations, the report said the Justice Department should interview or re-interview “key individuals who were part of Epstein and Maxwell’s inner circle.”
Questions about the credibility of certain witnesses
The report called into question the veracity of certain testimonies.
Committee members highlighted the Lesley Groff interview. Epstein’s longtime assistant claimed she was unaware of his illicit activities.
However, the report said Groff’s testimony, that she was unaware of Epstein’s crimes and had no suspicion of them, was “not credible.” The report states that “at a minimum, Groff chose to turn a blind eye to the criminal conduct.”
LEARN MORE: Who is Lesley Groff, the former assistant to Jeffrey Epstein questioned in the House investigation?
As part of his job, Groff scheduled daily massages for Epstein. According to Epstein’s 2019 sex trafficking indictment, massages were how his survivors were initially recruited.
“It is unlikely that Groff knew nothing of the abuse committed by Epstein and Maxwell against young women (sic) and girls,” the report said. “And more likely that she provided false or misleading information to the committee regarding her knowledge of Epstein’s criminal conduct.”
The committee said the Justice Department should question or further investigate Groff’s “likely knowledge of and facilitation of Epstein’s criminal activity.”
The report also cited testimony from Jes Staley, a former JPMorgan executive whose emails with Epstein appear to discuss “sexual relations with one of Epstein’s assistants dressed as a Disney princess character.”
Staley told the committee he was not aware of those emails.
LEARN MORE: Who is Jes Staley? Former JPMorgan executive questioned over Epstein ties
“Staley’s apparent inability to recall significant details about this case is not credible,” the report said.
The report also mentions similar emails depicting princesses between Epstein and former Miami Mayor Philip Levine. Kellen reported that Levine had abused her. Comer has asked the Justice Department to investigate Levine, who has denied Kellen’s allegations.
In testimony before the committee, Epstein’s longtime accountant, Richard Kahn, claimed he never saw or knew of any wrongdoing.
The report states that “Kahn turned a blind eye to activities known to be hallmarks of human activity.
traffic.”
Epstein’s ‘sweetheart deal’ was the government’s failure
The committee criticized the non-prosecution agreement federal prosecutors reached with Epstein in 2007. At the time, Epstein was under investigation for allegations that he sexually abused numerous underage girls.
Then-U.S. Attorney in Miami Alex Acosta, who later served as Trump’s Labor secretary during his first term, cut a lenient deal for the sex offender.
Under the terms of the agreement, Epstein pleaded guilty to charges of soliciting prostitution from a minor and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. He served 13 months and was allowed to leave almost daily through a work release program.
WATCH: Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘totally unprecedented’ plea deal with Alex Acosta
The committee said Acosta took a hands-off approach to the investigation, instead leaving it “in the hands of potential Epstein loyalists.”
The report highlighted Matthew Menchel and Bruce Reinhart, who worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office at the time. According to the commission, there is evidence that both men had ties to Epstein.
In an attempt to hastily resolve the case via a non-prosecution agreement, “federal law enforcement likely overlooked key elements of their investigation,” according to the report. Federal law enforcement has not explored allegations against Epstein in other states like New York and New Mexico, he adds.
Document released by Trump’s Justice Department ‘failed to adequately protect survivors’
The committee said the Justice Department failed to adequately communicate its disclosure of records and documents related to Epstein.
In November 2025, Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which requires the Justice Department to disclose documents related to its investigation of Epstein.
Although the DOJ released thousands of heavily redacted documents before the law’s deadline, the document filing did not include all records, as required by law. In January, the department released more than 3 million pages, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, but the agency failed to redact survivors’ personal information and uncensored photos.
Blanche repeatedly defended her department’s handling of the documents, saying it took a herculean effort to sift through millions of records. The report denounced the department’s “deficient redactions that exposed their sensitive information,” saying it “failed to adequately protect survivors.”
WATCH: Epstein Survivor Slams Blanche, Calls Meeting a ‘Performative Move’
Survivors have criticized and called out the Justice Department, saying they were dismissed and ignored. The committee recommended that the Department of Justice create a process for survivors to access their unredacted files and records.
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