Democrats on the House Oversight Committee on Friday released its third batch of documents tied to the estate of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, revealing the financier’s reported associations with powerful men such as Peter Thiel, Steve Bannon and Elon Musk.
Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, is also mentioned in the files.
“It should be clear to every American that Jeffrey Epstein was friends with some of the most powerful and wealthiest men in the world. Every new document produced provides new information as we work to bring justice for the survivors and victims,” Oversight spokesperson Sara Guerrero said in a Friday statement.
“Oversight Democrats will not stop until we identify everyone complicit in Epstein’s heinous crimes. It’s past time for Attorney General Bondi to release all the files now,” she added.
According to the newly released files, the tech billionaire Musk was scheduled to visit Epstein’s island in December 2014. Bannon, a former strategist to President Trump, and the tech billionaire Thiel had meetings slated with the financier in 2019 and 2017, respectively.
Andrew was listed on a manifest for a May 12, 2000, flight from New Jersey's Teterboro Airport to West Palm Beach, Fla. Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, his former girlfriend who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for crimes related to the sexual abuse of minors, also were recorded as being aboard the flight, according to the published records.
Oversight Democrats on Friday produced not only flight logs, but also phone messages, ledgers and daily schedules for Epstein from 2010 to 2019.
House Republicans said Friday they were not given advanced notice of the release.
"They are intentionally withholding documents that contain names of Democrat officials, and the information they released today is old news,” a spokesperson for Republicans on the Oversight Committee told Axios.
“We are focused on delivering transparency and accountability for the survivors, and will release documents in full,” the spokesperson added.
The controversy around the Epstein files has been a sore spot for the Trump administration, as critics say the president's campaign promises to champion the release of documents tied to the the financier's dealings have not been fulfilled. The House, however, moved a step closer to having enough signatures to compel the Justice Department to release all remaining federal files on Epstein after a Democratic victory in an Arizona special election earlier this week.
Trump has long denied reports about his alleged friendship with Epstein and has said that attempts to unveil potential criminal ties to the man are nothing more than a “witch hunt.”
Source: The Hill - News
