House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) signaled Monday that the panel could expand its subpoena list in its investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, after Democrats pressed to hear from former Labor Secretary Alex Acosta.
Acosta, who served as U.S. attorney in Florida before joining President Donald Trump’s first-term Cabinet, has long faced scrutiny for approving Epstein’s lenient 2008 plea deal, which allowed him to avoid federal charges and serve just 13 months in a county jail with work-release privileges. The agreement was kept hidden from victims, a decision a federal judge later ruled violated the Crime Victims’ Rights Act.
Although Acosta is a central figure in Epstein’s legal history, he was not included in the recent round of subpoenas issued by the House Oversight Committee. Comer instead targeted 10 other former officials, including former President Bill Clinton, former Attorney General Eric Holder, former FBI Director James Comey, and several former attorneys general spanning four administrations.
Speaking to reporters after former Attorney General Bill Barr’s closed-door interview with the committee on Monday, Comer said he was open to bringing in more witnesses but did not go into specifics about who else could be brought before the committee.
.@RepJamesComer (R-KY) shares game plan ahead of Bill Barr deposition on Epstein crimeshttps://t.co/N9jpwXKIlz pic.twitter.com/HPqlZFa3wT
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) August 18, 2025
“We’ll bring in everyone that we think can add information to the investigation,” Comer said. “This is a serious investigation, this is a sincere investigation. I hope this will be a bipartisan investigation.”
Democratic members who sat in on Barr’s deposition claimed Republicans have not pressed hard enough.
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA) argued that Democrats were “doing most of the heavy lifting,” while Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) criticized GOP members for “going through the motions” instead of focusing on victims. Both lawmakers pointed to Acosta as a figure who should be compelled to testify.
“Right now we need to speak to those who were involved in the investigation … it is also clear that the attorney involved, who is responsible, Alex Acosta, for handing out the deal prior to Attorney Barr’s reign as attorney general, we probably need to talk to him,” Subramanyam said.
In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to two counts of solicitation of prostitution, one with a minor under the age of 18, and was required to register as a sex offender. He was given immunity from federal prosecution, served 13 months in county jail, and was allowed to spend his days on work release at his Palm Beach office.
Acosta has defended the 2008 plea deal, arguing his office faced a complex case that originated with state prosecutors and involved victims reluctant to testify. He said withholding details about restitution was meant to prevent Epstein’s attorneys from portraying the victims as financially motivated. While acknowledging the agreement may look weak in hindsight, Acosta maintained it was better to secure a guaranteed guilty plea and sex offender registration than risk a failed trial that could have allowed Epstein to walk free.
Meanwhile, Barr, who personally reviewed jail surveillance footage from the night of Epstein’s death in federal custody in 2019, told lawmakers he never saw any evidence implicating Trump, according to Comer, who sat in during the deposition Monday.
The lawmaker also said Barr testified that if such information had existed, “the Biden administration would have probably leaked it out.”
Barr also reiterated that his personal review of jail surveillance footage from the night of Epstein’s death in August 2019 showed no evidence of foul play, consistent with the medical examiner’s finding of suicide, a source familiar with the matter told the Washington Examiner.
Before Comer spoke to reporters, Subramanyam and Crockett spoke in the same hallway, claiming that nothing revealed during the deposition interview with Barr revealed anything new about the Epstein case.
The committee has also subpoenaed the Justice Department for all Epstein- and Ghislaine Maxwell-related records by Tuesday. Comer said he expects the agency to comply soon.
BILL BARR ARRIVES FOR OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE INVESTIGATION INTO EPSTEIN
“We’re under the impression that they’re gathering these documents,” Comer said, noting the committee is in “constructive and productive conversations” with the administration and adding he believes the DOJ has “a lot of documents” related to the two cases.
The DOJ did not respond to the Washington Examiner when asked whether it would comply with the subpoena by the committee.