(CNN) — The House Oversight Committee has issued nearly a dozen subpoenas to the Justice Department and high-profile Democratic and Republican figures for files and information related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a major move that comes as many congressional Republicans call for more transparency around the case.
The subpoena to the Justice Department calls for it to provide Congress any Epstein files in its possession, with victims’ names redacted. It also calls for communications between former Biden administration officials and the Justice Department related to the case.
Additionally, 10 individuals subpoenaed for closed-door depositions between August and October are: Former Attorneys General Merrick Garland, William Barr, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder and Alberto Gonzales; former FBI Director James Comey; former special counsel Robert Mueller III; former Secretary of State and first lady Hillary Clinton; and former President Bill Clinton.
The Republican-led panel subpoenaed the six former attorneys general and two former FBI directors to speak with them about their time leading the DOJ and FBI that coincided with the then-ongoing criminal investigation into Epstein and his former associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
CNN is reaching out to those subpoenaed.
Demands for more information on Epstein have roiled Capitol Hill in recent weeks. The subpoena amounts to a show of defiance by some Republicans against House Speaker Mike Johnson – who has attempted to tamp down congressional efforts to push for the release of the so-called Epstein files, instead arguing President Donald Trump’s administration should have time to act on the issue.
The panel has separately subpoenaed Maxwell for a deposition – though it recently agreed to delay her testimony until after the US Supreme Court weighs her pending appeal of her conviction.
Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison in 2022 for carrying out a years-long scheme with Epstein to groom and sexually abuse underage girls. She has asked the Supreme Court to take up her appeal and overturn her sex-trafficking conviction.
House Oversight Chair James Comer issued the subpoenas Tuesday after three Republicans joined with Democrats in a subcommittee vote late last month to release the files.
As pressure has mounted, Johnson shut the door on the possibility of a House vote on releasing information on Epstein before the August recess and moved to send lawmakers home early after it became clear that the issue was not going to fade away. Johnson has said that he supports transparency and has argued that the Trump administration should be granted space to handle the matter before Congress intervenes, pointing to the Trump administration’s push to unseal grand jury materials related to the case.
The-CNN-Wire
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