Washington — The Republican leader of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has issued a subpoena to the estate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein seeking documents and other material as part of its ongoing examination of the government’s investigation into Epstein.

The subpoena issued by Rep. James Comer of Kentucky demands the co-executors of Epstein’s estate turn over to the House committee more than a dozen categories of documents and communications, including material from 1990 through August 2019 that references all presidents and vice presidents, videos taken from Epstein’s properties and listings in his contact and address books.

Lawmakers are also seeking entries contained within a leather-bound book put together by Epstein’s longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, for his 50th birthday, the 2008 non-prosecution agreement reached with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida and Epstein’s will.

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that President Trump had allegedly signed a “bawdy” letter to Epstein in the early 2000s to mark his 50th birthday that said, in part, “may every day be another wonderful secret.” The Journal reported that the leather-bound book was compiled by Maxwell and included submissions from dozens of associates, including billionaire Leslie Wexner attorney Alan Dershowitz and Mr. Trump.

The president called the letter reported by the Journal “fake” and filed a defamation lawsuit against the newspaper, its parent company and media mogul Rupert Murdoch over the story, seeking at least $20 billion in damages.

In a letter to the co-executors of Epstein’s estate, Comer wrote that “it is our understanding that the estate is ready and willing to provide these documents to the Committee pursuant to a subpoena.” He set a Sept. 8 deadline for the documents to be turned over to House investigators.

“Recent reporting indicates the estate of Mr. Epstein has access to documents relevant to the Committee’s investigation, including the alleged ‘birthday book’ prepared for Mr. Epstein by Ms. Maxwell,” he wrote. “The attached subpoena is meant to bolster the amount of information available to the Committee so that it may conduct its work. It is imperative that Congress conduct oversight of the federal government’s enforcement of sex trafficking laws generally and specifically its handling of the investigation and prosecution of Mr. Epstein and Ms. Maxwell.”

In addition to issuing the subpoena, Comer announced that Alex Acosta, who was serving as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida when Epstein was investigated, will voluntarily answer questions from the committee on Sept. 19.

Acosta was the top federal prosecutor in South Florida when federal authorities investigated Epstein in the 2000s and entered into a non-prosecution agreement that allowed him to avoid federal prosecution and plead guilty to state prostitution charges. Acosta went on to serve as secretary of labor during Mr. Trump’s first term, but resigned in 2019 amid questions about his handling of the Epstein case.

As part of its investigation into the federal probe into Epstein, the House Oversight Committee issued subpoenas for depositions earlier this month to former attorneys general and FBI directors across four presidential administrations, as well as to former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Comer said the committee would accept formal written declarations from three former attorneys general, Alberto Gonzales, Eric Holder and Jeff Sessions. Acosta was not among the officials from whom the Oversight Committee initially sought testimony.

The panel also issued a subpoena to Attorney General Pam Bondi for documents related to the Justice Department’s investigation into Epstein and Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 for her role in helping him recruit, groom and abuse underage girls. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence, but has appealed her conviction to the Supreme Court.

The Justice Department sent the first tranche of files related to Epstein to Congress last week, and the Oversight Committee plans to make the records public, though victims’ identification and child sexual abuse material will be redacted, a spokesperson said.

The renewed focus on Epstein’s case and the government’s handling of it was sparked by a Justice Department memo issued in July that said there was no “client list” or evidence that Epstein blackmailed prominent figures. The Trump administration said it would not disclose any additional information about Epstein, which led to a backlash from some of the president’s allies.

In response, the Justice Department asked federal judges in New York to unseal grand jury transcripts from Epstein and Maxwell’s cases. U.S. District Judge Richard Berman denied last week the request to make the material from Epstein’s proceedings public, finding that the government is the “logical party to make comprehensive disclosure to the public of the Epstein File.”

Separately, the administration released transcripts of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s two-day interview with Maxwell that was conducted in Tallahassee last month.

Epstein was indicted on federal sex trafficking charges in 2019 but died by suicide at a Manhattan correctional facility while awaiting trial.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Oversight Committee subpoenaed the estate of the late Jeffrey Epstein on Monday as congressional lawmakers try to determine who was connected to the disgraced financier and whether prosecutors mishandled his case.

The committee’s subpoena is the latest effort by both Republicans and Democrats to respond to public clamor for more disclosure in the investigation into Epstein, who was found dead in his New York jail cell in 2019. Lawmakers are trying to guide an investigation into who among Epstein’s high-powered social circle may have been aware of his sexual abuse of teenage girls, delving into a criminal case that has spurred conspiracy theories and roiled top officials in President Donald Trump’s administration.

The subpoena, signed by Rep. James Comer, the Republican chair of the oversight committee, and dated Monday, demands that Epstein’s estate provide Congress with documents including a book that was compiled with notes from friends for his 50th birthday, his last will and testament, agreements he signed with prosecutors, his contact books, and his financial transactions and holdings.

Comer wrote to the executors of Epstein’s estate that the committee “is reviewing the possible mismanagement of the federal government’s investigation of Mr. Jeffrey Epstein and Ms. Ghislaine Maxwell, the circumstances and subsequent investigations of Mr. Epstein’s death, the operation of sex-trafficking rings and ways for the federal government to effectively combat them, and potential violations of ethics rules related to elected officials.”

The Justice Department, trying to distance Trump and Epstein, last week began handing over to lawmakers documentation of the federal investigation into Epstein. It has also released transcripts of interviews conducted with Ghislaine Maxwell, his former girlfriend. But Democrats on the committee have not been satisfied with those efforts, saying that the some 33,000 pages of documents they’ve received are mostly already public.

“DOJ’s limited disclosure raises more questions than answers and makes clear that the White House is not interested in justice for the victims or the truth,” Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement.

Pressure from lawmakers to release more information is likely to only grow when Congress returns to Washington next week.

A bipartisan group of House members is attempting to maneuver around Republican leadership to hold a vote to pass legislation meant to require the Justice Department to release a full accounting of the sex trafficking investigation into Epstein.

Stephen Groves, The Associated Press

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The House Oversight Committee has deepened its probe into the federal government’s investigation of the late, disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, issuing a subpoena to his estate for an array of documents.

The GOP-led committee issued the subpoena to Epstein’s estate Monday, demanding a slew of documents that include the so-called “birthday book” – a reported collection of letters gifted to Epstein for his 50th birthday that included a note bearing President Donald Trump’s name. Trump has repeatedly denied writing the letter and sued The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on it, for defamation.

“Recent reporting indicates the estate of Mr. Epstein has access to documents relevant to the Committee’s investigation, including the alleged ‘birthday book’ prepared for Mr. Epstein by Ms. Maxwell,” GOP Chairman James Comer wrote in a letter to Epstein’s estate.

The committee is also seeking Epstein’s will, all non-disclosure agreements executed by him, his financial documents and “any document or record that could be reasonably construed to be a potential list of clients involved in sex, sex acts, or sex trafficking” facilitated by Epstein.

In a statement, Comer signaled that people involved in Epstein’s estate are willing to comply with the subpoena. He set a deadline of September 8 for the estate to hand over the documents.

“It is our understanding that the Estate of Jeffrey Epstein is in custody and control of documents that may further the Committee’s investigation and legislative goals. Further, it is our understanding the Estate is ready and willing to provide these documents to the Committee pursuant to a subpoena,” Comer said.

“The Epstein Estate received a subpoena this afternoon from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform; we are reviewing it. As the Co-Executors have always said, they will comply with all lawful process in this matter, and that includes the Committee’s subpoena,” said Daniel Weiner of the law firm Hughes Hubbard and Reed.

The Kentucky Republican also announced that the committee would sit down with Alexander Acosta, who served as secretary of the Department of Labor during Trump’s first term, for a transcribed interview. During his time as US attorney in Florida, Acosta oversaw a 2008 plea deal with Epstein.

Acosta, who served as the US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, will appear voluntarily for an interview on September 19, the committee said.

Acosta had been widely criticized during Trump’s first term for that plea agreement.

In 2019, then-Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called for Acosta’s resignation after accusing him of having “cut Epstein a sweetheart deal.”

The escalation of the House committee’s Epstein investigation comes after the Department of Justice handed over thousands of pages of Epstein-related documents to the panel last Friday. But Democrats on that panel have said only about “3 percent” have new information, including flight logs from the Customs and Border Protection agency on the location of Epstein’s former plane.

Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, said in a statement, “After weeks of pressure from Oversight Democrats, Chairman Comer has finally issued a subpoena for Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous birthday book, which contains critical information about Epstein’s social network—and has agreed to hear testimony from Alex Acosta. These are important steps forward to get long-overdue answers about sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes. It doesn’t matter who you are: If you were involved with Jeffrey Epstein and you hurt people, you need to be held accountable.”

The Trump Administration has tried—and failed—to put tensions over its handling of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s case to bed for weeks. But they’ve only continued to escalate as news outlets have reported new information related to President Donald Trump’s years-long relationship with Epstein and potential inclusion in files related to the case. The recent controversy ignited after the Department of Justice and FBI issued a memo earlier this month declaring Epstein’s death a suicide and denying the existence of a “client list” of people involved in his alleged sex trafficking activities.

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The memo contradicted a slew of conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein that have been particularly prominent on the right and had previously been fueled by top Trump Administration officials including FBI Director Kash Patel and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who in February stated that the rumored “client list” was “sitting on my desk right now.” (Following the memo’s release, both have walked back their previous comments: Patel stated that “the conspiracy theories just aren’t true, never have been,” and Bondi said that she was referring to the case file on Epstein in the February interview.) Trump himself brought the issue up more rarely than his allies, though he promised on the campaign trail to release more information related to the case.

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The Administration’s reversal on the matter has drawn outcry from the President’s MAGA base and divided the Republican Party, as constituent concerns and calls for transparency have clashed with Trump’s repeated attempts to downplay the scandal. House Speaker Mike Johnson earlier this week prevented a vote on a bipartisan bill that would mandate the full release of the Epstein files—cosponsored by fellow Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna—by sending lawmakers home early for their five-week recess. A day later, the House Oversight Committee voted late Wednesday to subpoena the Department of Justice for its files related to Epstein’s case. “The American people deserve transparency and accountability and his victims deserve justice,” Rep. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, the top-ranking Democrat on the panel, wrote on X Wednesday. “The wealthy and powerful are not above the law.” Three Republicans on the committee broke with their party to vote with Democrats on the matter.

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The committee also issued a subpoena for a deposition from Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s long-time associate who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking and other crimes. Here’s what to know about the controversy and how the Administration is responding. White House hits back at reports that Trump is named in the files Questions about the Administration’s handling of documents related to Epstein further mounted after the Wall Street Journal and other news outlets reported on Wednesday that Justice Department officials informed the President in May that his name is in the Epstein files. His inclusion in the records, which also include the names of other influential figures, isn’t evidence of wrongdoing, according to the Journal’s report. Trump’s name has previously appeared in unsealed documents in the case, along with those of a number of other Epstein acquaintances and associates.

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Justice Department officials also reportedly informed Trump in the May briefing that they did not plan on releasing additional files related to Epstein because the material included child pornography and the personal information of victims. The Administration is pushing back on the reporting. White House communications director Steven Cheung referred to it as “fake news” in a statement to TIME. “The fact is that the President kicked him out of his club for being a creep,” Cheung said. However, a Trump official told Reuters that the Administration is not denying that Trump’s name was mentioned in the files. The Journal’s most recent report comes as its parent companies, owner, two reporters, and one of the parent company’s CEOs face a libel lawsuit filed by the President in response to an earlier story alleging that Trump was one of dozens of individuals who wrote letters to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003. “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” the letter concluded, according to the media outlet.

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TIME has not independently verified the reporting. On Wednesday, Rep. Khanna told MSNBC’s “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” that he planned on issuing a subpoena for the birthday album, which is in the possession of the Epstein estate. In the face of the escalating scandal, the Trump Administration has made some effort to release more files related to Epstein. On July 18, the Justice Department filed a motion asking for grand jury transcripts in the case to be released. A Florida federal judge this Wednesday blocked one of the Administration’s requests to unseal grand jury testimony, citing regulations barring courts from unsealing such transcripts except in narrow circumstances. Two other requests for information filed by the Department in the state of New York are still being considered. What has Trump said about Epstein? Despite Trump’s attempts to distance himself from Epstein since the disgraced financier’s first conviction in 2008, the two were previously pictured together on numerous occasions—including at Trump’s 1993 wedding to Marla Maples and at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

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In a 2002 interview with New York Magazine, Trump stated that he had known Epstein for around 15 years and referred to him as a “terrific guy” and “a lot of fun.” “It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life,” the magazine quoted the President as saying. In 2017, however, the Trump Organization denied that the President had a relationship with Epstein or was aware of his conduct. “This has all been reported countless times in the press,” Trump Organization attorney Alan Garten told POLITICO. The President has expressed ire at the media’s focus on Epstein in recent weeks. “I had the Greatest Six Months of any President in the History of our Country, and all the Fake News wants to talk about is the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax!” Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday.

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What files have already been released on Epstein and is there a client list? Public pressure for the unsealing of files regarding the notorious sex offender is in part due to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign promise to release more information regarding the matter. Some previously sealed documents related to the Epstein and Maxwell cases have already been made public. In January 2024, more than 1,400 pages of records were unsealed under the Biden Administration, though they included little new information. This February, the Trump Justice Department released what it referred to as the “first phase of the declassified Epstein files,” first to a group of right-wing influencers and later publicly. The information, however, was mostly already public, including flight logs and a redacted copy of Epstein’s contact book. Trump is among other prominent figures named in the previously unsealed documents. He was mentioned in a 2016 deposition from Johanna Sjoberg, one of Epstein’s victims, who said the disgraced financier’s plane made an impromptu stop in Atlantic City in the 2000s. Sjoberg said “no” when asked if she’d given Trump a massage.

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The FBI and DOJ have denied the existence of a “client list” of people Epstein allegedly trafficked young girls to. They also said there is no credible evidence that Epstein blackmailed associates to keep them quiet.

Why is the government meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell now?

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche reportedly met with Maxwell for six hours on Thursday.

Blanche said on Tuesday that he intended to meet with Maxwell to discuss Epstein and what she knows about his actions, noting he reached out at Bondi’s request.

“President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence,” Blanche said. “If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say.”

The decision to speak with Maxwell, as well as the Department of Justice’s request for grand jury testimony related to the Epstein to be unsealed on Friday, mark a shift in Bondi’s approach to the issue as the Administration continues to take fire from its base and some Republican lawmakers and media figures.