Democrats vow Epstein probes if they take Congress in November

Democratic candidates are spending millions on television ads that focus on the Jeffrey Epstein files. If the party wins control of either chamber of Congress in the November 3 midterm elections, Rep. Robert Garcia of California says investigating the late financier will be a top priority. Garcia serves on the House oversight committee and told Bloomberg News that learning more about Epstein is central to the party's agenda.

According to AdImpact figures cited by The Washington Post, Democrats have spent $53 million on ads mentioning Epstein in competitive races. Republicans have spent $3 million on similar spots. In the 2024 presidential campaign, Epstein appeared in only three ads, all involving candidates in Florida where he kept his main residence.

Two bills already introduced in Congress could facilitate the work Democrats promise. One bill, backed by Rep. Ro Khanna and Rep. Thomas Massie among five co-sponsors, would allow state attorneys general and survivors to sue the Justice Department for unredacted files. The other, the Epstein Wall Street Records Act from Garcia and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, would require regulators to disclose supervisory records tied to Epstein and investigate connected banks.

Democrats have accused at least three major financial institutions of failing to follow anti-money laundering rules regarding large suspicious transactions in Epstein's accounts. The party argues these institutions allowed the financier to move money without proper scrutiny.

Former federal prosecutor Ankush Khardori argues the focus is misplaced. He told the Boston Globe that examining possible corruption involving the Trump administration and the president's family would be more productive. Khardori called the release of Epstein documents without context a historic mistake that has brought uneven consequences for people who knew Epstein but were never accused of a crime.

Khardori noted that the claim that the files would expose a hidden child sex trafficking ring has not been substantiated after nearly a year of the Epstein Files Transparency Act and more than 19 oversight committee interviews. He pointed to the April suicide of Norway's Edward Juul Rod-Larsen, whose parents faced questions about their contacts with Epstein.

Finding new evidence is difficult. Epstein is dead and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a lengthy prison sentence. Three of the women who said they were abused have also died. Rep. James Comer, the Kentucky Republican leading the oversight committee, sent two referrals to the Justice Department this year based on testimony from Sarah Kellen. Kellen accused two men of sexual assault in separate encounters and said neither Epstein nor Maxwell helped facilitate them.

Democrat members of the judiciary committee released a report on Monday compiling every damaging mention of Donald Trump in the Epstein files released so far. The report includes allegations of sexual abuse and rape. One accuser, whose earlier claim of groping surfaced during the 2024 campaign, now alleges she was raped in 1993. A civil suit tied to allegations involving a young teen was twice dropped by the anonymous plaintiff's lawyers more than a decade ago. The report urged the appointment of a special counsel, a step only the attorney general can take.