Justice Department faces subpoena over Epstein files by House Oversight Committee

A House Oversight subcommittee voted Wednesday to subpoena the Department of Justice to release the Jeffrey Epstein files.

The motion passed by a vote of 8-2. Notably, three GOP lawmakers -- Reps. Nancy Mace, Scott Perry and Brian Jack -- joined with Democrats on the subcommittee to approve the subpoena, defying Republican leadership.

The House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer must sign the subpoena before it can be officially issued, per committee rules. Comer plans to sign off on the subpoena, a Republican committee source told ABC News.

The top Democrat on the subcommittee, Rep. Summer Lee, initially offered the motion.

Republicans on the committee pushed back and amended the subpoena to also include communications by Biden administration officials and the DOJ. These officials include Bill and Hillary Clinton, James Comey, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, Robert Mueller, William Barr, Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzales.

Oversight Ranking Member Rep. Robert Garcia said in a statement that the subcommittee's vote on Wednesday "was just the first step toward accountability, and we will continue pushing for the truth."

"Today, Oversight Democrats fought for transparency and accountability on the Epstein files and won. House Republicans didn't make it easy, but the motion was finally passed to force the Department of Justice to release the Epstein files," Garcia said.

The news comes the same day House Oversight Committee Chairman Comer on Wednesday issued a subpoena to Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of Jeffrey Epstein, for a deposition to occur at Federal Correctional Institution Tallahassee on Aug. 11.

"The facts and circumstances surrounding both your and Mr. Epstein's cases have received immense public interest and scrutiny," Comer wrote in a statement Wednesday.

Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and other charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022.

"What we're talking about here is someone who's in federal prison on appeal, so our attorneys will have to communicate with her attorneys to see if there are terms, if she wants," Comer said before the subpoena was issued. "If there are no terms, we'll roll in there quick."

The situation will be similar to Comer's effort to interview Jason Galanis, a former business partner of Hunter Biden and Devon Archer, during the GOP's impeachment inquiry of then-President Joe Biden.

"I did that with [Jason] Galanis, and the Democrats were real offended that we would want to interview anyone in prison. But now you know they're, they're all they want to interview someone in prison," Comer said.

The committee has shown a propensity to record video of the interviews and release content afterwards -- as it did with several former Biden officials who invoked their 5th Amendment rights earlier this summer -- so it's possible there could be handout video from the deposition.

Separately, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday that Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche will meet with Maxwell sometime in the "coming days."

President Donald Trump last week said on his social media platform that he had ordered the Justice Department to "release all Grand Jury testimony with respect to Jeffrey Epstein, subject only to Court Approval."

Comer has also signaled that the circumstances of a closed-door deposition at a federal prison could attract both Democrats and Republicans to attend the interview.

"There will be so many members of Congress that'll want to be in that prison," Comer said. "I would assume that there'll be a lot of members of the Oversight Committee on both -- in both parties that'll want to be there."

A congressional subpoena is a formal legal order issued by a congressional committee or individual compelling their testimony.

David Oscar Markus, appellate counsel for Maxwell, said in a statement to ABC News that Maxwell "looks forward" to meeting with Blanche and that meeting will inform how she proceeds with the subpoena.

"As for the congressional subpoena, Ms. Maxwell is taking this one step at a time. She looks forward to her meeting with the Department of Justice, and that discussion will help inform how she proceeds," he said.

Markus also responded to comments from House Speaker Mike Johnson earlier Wednesday questioning Maxwell's credibility as a witness.

"If they see fit to bring in Ghislaine Maxwell for testimony, that's fine. I will note the obvious concern, the caveat that Chairman Comer and I and everyone has that could she be counted on to tell the truth? Is she a credible witness?" Johnson said to reporters.

"We understand Speaker Johnson's general concern -- Congress should always vet the credibility of its witnesses. But in this case, those concerns are unfounded. If Ms. Maxwell agrees to testify before Congress and not take the 5th -- and that remains a big if -- she would testify truthfully, as she always has said she would and as she will with Mr. Blanche. The truth should not be feared or preemptively dismissed," Markus said in a statement.