- Oct 17, 2011
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House Democrats press DOJ for details on Epstein co-conspirators probe that was "inexplicably killed"
The demand comes amid relentless bipartisan interest in the investigation, which has dogged the Justice Department's top officials as they've sought to put the matter to rest. Some in the Trump administration, including Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, promised major revelations into the Epstein matter before taking office, only to indicate later that the case was closed.In the letter, Raskin said almost 50 survivors provided information to prosecutors and FBI agents as part of the investigation that ultimately led to the indictments of Epstein in 2019 and Ghislaine Maxwell in 2020. Raskin said the information the survivors provided was "precise and detailed."
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York was running an active investigation into Epstein and Maxwell's co-conspirators until January 2025, when prosecutors were directed to transfer the Epstein case files to the Justice Department's headquarters, in what Raskin said was "a sudden and dramatic shift in the posture of the investigation." Since then, "the investigation into co-conspirators has inexplicably ceased," he said, citing information provided to the Judiciary Committee by attorneys who represent Epstein survivors.
During the hearing, Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who has led an effort to force a vote in the House on releasing the Epstein files, pointed to 20 alleged co-conspirators.
"According to victims who cooperated with the FBI in that investigation, these documents in FBI possession, your possession, detail at least 20 men, including Mr. Jes Staley, CEO of Barclays Bank," Massie said, referring to a banker who left Barclays in 2021 amid scrutiny over his ties to Epstein. Staley, who worked with Epstein for years as a top official at J.P. Morgan, has said they had a "close professional relationship." Staley has denied wrongdoing and said he regrets befriending Epstein.
Massie said other high-profile figures were among those named by Epstein's victims.
"That list also includes at least 19 other individuals — one Hollywood producer worth a few hundred million dollars, one royal prince, one high-profile individual in the music industry, one very prominent banker, one high-profile government official, one high-profile former politician, one owner of a car company in Italy, one rockstar, one magician, at least six billionaires, including a billionaire from Canada," Massie said.
