Comer seeks Blanche testimony on remaining Epstein files in July

House Oversight Chairman James Comer said he wants Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche before lawmakers in July as the panel presses the Justice Department on whether any Epstein-related documents are still being held back. Comer said the committee was talking with DOJ about Blanche’s possible testimony and that the central question is straightforward: what, if anything, remains outstanding.

The request gives Congress a point of leverage as Blanche’s attorney general nomination moves to the Senate after the White House sent it forward on Monday, following President Donald Trump’s announcement last week that he had picked Blanche for the post. Comer is not treating the appearance as a ceremonial check-in. He is trying to pin down who inside DOJ controlled the Epstein-file review, which records were released, and whether any material was withheld, delayed or still exists in department custody.

That pressure comes after months of closed-door work by the Oversight Committee, which has interviewed more than a dozen people in its Epstein inquiry, including former Attorney General Pam Bondi, former President Bill Clinton, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Bill Gates and Lesley Groff. Bondi testified in late May that DOJ had released more than 3 million pages of files required under the Epstein Files Transparency Act and said the department had produced everything required to the best of her knowledge. She also said she had delegated oversight of the Epstein-files review to Blanche, which put him at the center of the document fight Democrats say they want to examine.

Oversight Democrats, led by Rep. Robert Garcia, have argued that Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel should come in for separate videotaped transcribed interviews. Garcia said Democrats could force a subpoena vote if Blanche does not appear voluntarily. Democrats also said Bondi referenced Blanche 30 times in her testimony and pointed to him as the official responsible for DOJ actions involving the review, withholding and release of Epstein-related records, along with the decision to interview Ghislaine Maxwell and her transfer to a minimum-security prison.

The committee’s inquiry has also widened beyond document handling. On June 4, Comer and Republican lawmakers asked DOJ to investigate sexual assault allegations raised in Sarah Kellen’s transcribed interview, saying the committee had identified new names tied to the claims, including former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine and celebrity hairstylist Frédéric Fekkai. Comer said the panel had already released Kellen’s transcript and was referring the allegations to DOJ, underscoring that the Epstein probe is now a test of both transparency and whether Congress can force the department to account for what it knows.