House Republicans have accused the US government of failing survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse, calling for renewed investigations into the late financier’s associates.
The House oversight committee released a 136-page report on Tuesday following a 15-month investigation into the handling of criminal cases involving Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.
“The federal government has failed the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s horrific crimes for decades,” committee chairman James Comer said.
The Republican-led report concluded that Epstein’s crimes after 2005 “could have been prevented and justice served had it not been for the failures of investigators and federal prosecutors in South Florida and Washington DC.”
It also criticised financial institutions and government agencies for overlooking warning signs of human trafficking and suspicious financial transactions.
The committee urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to question key witnesses again, investigate additional allegations and improve survivors’ access to unredacted records.
The report also concluded that President Donald Trump was not implicated in Epstein’s crimes and accused Democrats of attempting to link him to the scandal.
Republicans recommended legislation allowing abuse survivors and witnesses to speak publicly without being restricted by non-disclosure agreements.
