The long-awaited Republican report on the Jeffrey Epstein case found serious problems with investigations into the convicted sex offender, but it also says there is nothing more to be gained in scrutinizing President Donald Trump — an instruction Democrats promptly said they are ignoring.
Trump’s vow to release all the FBI Epstein files was a key plank in his 2024 White House run, but when all the files were not produced by his administration, anger in the GOP base prompted House Republicans to launch their own probe.
Democrats used the lingering anger at Epstein as part of their winning 2026 argument. Now, House Oversight Committee ranking member Robert Garcia of California is saying the release of the report does not mean the congressional dissection of the case is done.
Garcia, who is on track to head the committee in January, said in a statement that the report, led by Oversight Committee chair James Comer of Kentucky, is based on an “incomplete investigation.”
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“We intend to hold real public hearings uplifting survivors and asking tough questions of the powerful men who associated with Epstein, including Donald Trump,” Garcia said.
The 100-plus page report released Tuesday argues that government at the federal and state levels bungled investigations into Epstein, and failed to hold him and his network of associates accountable. Epstein operated with impunity, shielded by powerful connections that insulated him from investigation and prosecution, the report concluded.
Epstein died while in federal custody in New York in 2019. Federal prosecutors have not announced any active criminal investigations into Epstein’s associates, and top Trump officials have signaled that they don’t plan to pursue Epstein-related probes. However, Comer, in a video detailing the report, pushed the Trump administration toward more action on Epstein.
“The Department of Justice must interview key witnesses, investigate everyone who participated in or facilitated these crimes and provide survivors access to the records,” Comer said. “Congress can investigate, but it cannot deliver justice alone.”
Comer also said that the committee has referred two men accused of sexual assault to the Department of Justice for investigation. The report identifies former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine and French celebrity hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai as having been accused of sexual assault by Sarah Kellen, a longtime Epstein assistant and survivor. Both have adamantly denied involvement.
Yet, even as the report found federal failings, Comer and Republicans defended the president, arguing Democrats were “obsessed with trying to implicate President Trump and insinuate that he was involved in the crimes of Epstein” and Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s associate who was convicted of sex trafficking.
“Their unfounded witch hunt continued without regard for the interests of survivors, even though the facts gathered during this investigation do not suggest President Trump is implicated in any of Epstein’s crimes,” the report said.
The Oversight probe stretched on for 15 months, during which the committee interviewed 19 witnesses, released documents from the Justice Department and held Leon Black, a billionaire Epstein associate, in contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas. But it was also marred by partisan infighting, with Democrats taking exception to Comer’s decision to not hold any public hearings and not require most witnesses to testify under oath.
Democrats have outlined an aggressive oversight strategy, emboldened by a wipeout midterm win and data that suggests voters are increasingly concerned about government corruption.
Comer and Republicans said Democrats need to “put survivors — not politics — first.”
“The consensus of every witness examined before the Committee was that President Trump––to their knowledge––was not involved in any crimes committed by Epstein and Maxwell,” the report concluded.
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