A US congressional committee on Tuesday released tens of thousands of pages of records provided by the Department of Justice (DoJ) related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
It was initially unclear whether the 33,295 pages of Epstein-related records released by the House Oversight Committee contained previously unknown information.
According to the Washington Post, this is the first batch of documents that is likely to be followed by further publications due to cross-party demands for more transparency in the case.
US Representative Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, said that the majority of the documents released on Tuesday had already been made public.
“The 33,000 pages of Epstein documents James Comer has decided to ‘release’ were already mostly public information. To the American people: Don’t let this fool you,” US broadcaster CNN reported Garcia as saying in a statement.
“After careful review, Oversight Democrats have found that 97% of the documents received from the Department of Justice were already public. There is no mention of any client list or anything that improves transparency or justice for victims.”
In mid-August, it became known that the US government planned to hand over documents from the Epstein investigations to the US Congress. Republican Oversight Committee chairman James Comer said at the time that the DoJ had informed the panel it would begin providing materials within days.
Comer noted that it would take some time to release all documents and redact the identities of victims, as well as any content relating to sexual abuse of minors. The move followed an August order from Comer.
Especially in right-wing circles of US society, Epstein’s death led to wild speculation despite official findings, because the financier had excellent contacts in US high society.
US President Donald Trump has been under pressure to release the documents after pledging to do so during his campaign, with calls for full disclosure growing even within his own ranks in recent months.
Epstein, a wealthy financier with powerful connections, was charged with running a sex trafficking ring that exploited underage girls for a string of prominent clients. He died in jail in 2019 in what authorities ruled a suicide, sparking conspiracy theories that sensitive information had been covered up.