Epstein abuse survivor Lisa Phillips speaks during a press conference with lawmakers on the Epstein Files Transparency Act outside the U.S. Capitol on November 18, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Heather Diehl | Getty Images
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released a highly critical report Tuesday on how the federal government handled the investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
“The federal government has failed survivors of the horrific crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell for decades,” House Oversight Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said in a statement.
The report calls on the Justice Department to interview or re-interview “key witnesses” with information about Epstein’s sex trafficking of young women and girls, “further investigate allegations of criminal activity involving Epstein’s associates, and provide survivors with unredacted access to their records.”
The report also urges Congress to pass legislation sponsored by Comer that would allow survivors of sexual abuse to speak freely about it, even if they have signed confidentiality agreements.
In addition to criticizing the federal government, the committee blasted various financial institutions for their roles in the treatment of Epstein, who committed suicide in August 2019 in prison after being arrested on child sex trafficking charges.
“U.S. and foreign government authorities have failed to identify indicators of human trafficking and immigration fraud,” the committee said. “Institutions such as American Express enabled this activity, with company agents allowing Epstein to use fraudulent decoy flights and refundable or phony itineraries to transport foreign women across borders directly to his residences.”
House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, Republican of Kentucky, speaks to the press as Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates participates in a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, June 10, 2026.
Kent Nishimura | Afp | Getty Images
“Financial institutions possessed substantial information about Epstein’s criminal history and repeatedly identified transactions and activities with heightened compliance risks,” the committee said. “Yet they failed to adequately address these risks, in some cases reporting them years later after Epstein’s 2019 arrest, due to Epstein’s personal relationships, wealth and influence.”
The committee called on the Treasury Department and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to monitor whether banks and other financial institutions are meeting their obligations to report activities that could indicate money laundering and human trafficking.
The committee has been investigating Epstein, Maxwell and their relationships since last year.
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