A House Oversight Committee report concluded that prosecutorial failures, preferential treatment, and institutional negligence allowed Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to continue sexually exploiting young women and girls for years.

The investigation, led by Chairman James Comer, R, Ky., raised concerns about potential conflicts involving federal prosecutors. It also examined financial institutions that overlooked sex trafficking warning signs and individuals accused of facilitating Epstein’s abuse.

The committee identified two former federal prosecutors whose involvement in Epstein’s original investigation raised potential conflicts. According to documents cited in the report, Menchel did not recuse himself and continued communicating and meeting with Epstein after an agreement was reached.

Read the report and press release here: https://t.co/VOr5mq8TCF

— Oversight Committee (@GOPoversight) November 10, 2026

Investigators learned of an alleged photograph showing Menchel skiing with Epstein in Colorado during the early 2000s. They could not verify the photograph’s existence or establish that Menchel’s decisions were improperly influenced.

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Menchel denied ever skiing with Epstein in a statement to the Miami Herald, but he did not deny meeting Epstein after leaving the U.S. Attorney’s Office. His attorneys said their correspondence involved possible legal representation and referrals that never produced business.

Former federal prosecutor Bruce Reinhart established a private law practice while working at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and later represented Epstein associates. His practice handled matters related to Epstein’s work release program, while former U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta testified that he did not know whether Reinhart accessed investigation information.

The committee urged the Justice Department to investigate former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine and celebrity hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai further. Sarah Kellen, a former Epstein assistant, testified that Epstein, Levine and Fekkai sexually abused her, while both men previously denied the allegations.

Kellen also testified that Epstein instructed another assistant to remove computers, hard drives and other equipment from his Palm Beach residence before authorities searched it in 2005. Investigators believed the equipment might contain evidence of sexual exploitation.

Epstein attorney Darren Indyke testified that he later learned the hard drives were held by private investigators. Federal investigators identified a potential lead involving the equipment but abandoned the effort before finalizing Epstein’s agreement.

The committee examined whether Sandy Berger, a former national security advisor to President Bill Clinton, warned Epstein about the search after sending him an urgent message 18 days earlier. It found no evidence that Berger provided a warning or that his message concerned the investigation.

The report sharply criticized Epstein’s treatment following his 2008 conviction, arguing that his work release privileges allowed continued abuse. Epstein served approximately 13 months of an 18 month sentence and could leave jail for up to 12 hours daily, six days each week.

 

Those privileges included working at the Florida Science Foundation, which the committee described as a sham organization. Epstein also traveled in private vehicles with paid deputies who were off duty, received visitors without continuous monitoring, and visited his Palm Beach residence.

Kellen and other survivors alleged Epstein continued sexually abusing them during work release. Groff, who arranged daily massage appointments and coordinated travel and lodging for women visiting Epstein’s properties, testified that she did not know he was abusing young women and girls.

The investigation also examined Epstein’s relationships with billionaire Bill Gates and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Lutnick told the committee in 2026 that he had “done absolutely nothing wrong” and acknowledged visiting Epstein’s private island with his family for lunch in 2012.

Gates testified that Epstein requested reimbursement for expenses involving a woman with whom Gates had an affair. Gates said he refused, ended his relationship with Epstein in late 2014 and was never a client of Epstein’s financial businesses.

The committee identified billionaire financier Leon Black as a major source of Epstein’s income after 2008. Black paid Epstein approximately $158 million to $170 million for purported tax and estate planning services, according to the report.

Black refused to answer certain committee questions fully and failed to comply with subpoenas. That resistance prompted a unanimous House vote in September 2026 to hold him in criminal contempt of Congress.

The report also detailed Kathryn Ruemmler’s professional relationship with Epstein after his conviction, including expensive gifts. In a 2016 email, the former White House counsel under President Barack Obama joked about receiving the “best massage ever but not your kind of massage.”

Ruemmler acknowledged that the remark was in poor taste and said she believed Epstein had resolved his criminal case and was living lawfully. The report separately identified messages exchanged between Del. Stacey Plaskett, D, V.I., and Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing, but alleged no wrongdoing by Plaskett.

Regarding Epstein’s 2019 death, the committee found serious prison security failures but did not overturn the official suicide finding. It also criticized the Justice Department for missing disclosure deadlines and exposing survivors’ personal information while releasing millions of documents.

The Republican led investigation found no evidence implicating President Donald Trump in Epstein’s criminal activities. It also accused congressional Democrats of politicizing the investigation.

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