Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee shot down Democrats’ attempt Wednesday to subpoena financial records they said could shed light on the financial ties of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Democrats said some $1.5 billion in money movements were identified by banks concerning Epstein. They were reported to the Treasury Department as Suspicious Activity Reports.
Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, Pennsylvania Democrat, moved to have the committee subpoena that data.
The proposal was defeated on a 23-16 vote on the GOP-controlled committee.
Chairman Jim Jordan said the reports are already being gathered by the House Oversight Committee.
“They’re actually getting the SARS from the Treasury Department, which is something we think’s important,” the Ohio Republican said.
Another attempt to subpoena documents related to the prison transfer of Epstein collaborator Ghislaine Maxwell was also defeated.
The subpoena attempts are part of Democrats’ belief that President Trump has reason to be embarrassed by what’s in the so-called “Epstein files,” the name the media has given to documents held by the federal government concerning previous criminal investigations into Epstein.
The votes came at the end of a hearing with FBI Director Kash Patel, who spent much of his time on Capitol Hill Tuesday and Wednesday fending off accusations of a cover-up.
Mr. Patel said his bureau has released more documents than previous administrations and said he welcomes any new investigative leads that could expose others who were involved in trafficking women or girls for sex.
He testified Tuesday that as far as the FBI’s current information, Epstein only trafficked women to himself.
Democrats have challenged that claim, pointing to the statements of women who said Epstein recruited them for sex and sent them to other men.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.