People walk out of the West Wing of the White House with "The Epstein Files: Phase 1" binders, in Washington, D.C., Feb. 27, 2025. Photo by Kevin Lamarque/Reuter

House subcommittee votes 8-2 to subpoena Justice Department for Epstein files

By — Stephen Groves, Associated Press
By — Matt Brown, Associated Press
Politics Jul 23, 2025 7:44 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A House subcommittee on Wednesday voted to subpoena the Department of Justice for files in the sex trafficking investigation into Jeffrey Epstein after Democrats successfully goaded GOP lawmakers to defy President Donald Trump and Republican leadership to support the action.

The vote showed the intensifying push for disclosures in the Epstein investigation even as House Speaker Mike Johnson — caught between demands from Trump and clamoring from his own members for the House to act — was sending lawmakers home a day early for its August recess. The House Committee on Oversight also issued a subpoena Wednesday for Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted sex offender and girlfriend of the late Epstein, to testify before committee officials in August.

Meanwhile, Democrats on a subcommittee of the powerful House Oversight Committee made a motion for the subpoena Wednesday afternoon. Three Republicans on the panel voted with Democrats for the subpoena, sending it through on an 8-2 vote tally.

The Republican subcommittee chairman, Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana, said that work was beginning to draft the subpoena but did not give a timeline for when it would be issued. … "I've never handled a subpoena like this. This is some fascinating stuff," said Higgins, who voted against the motion.

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