US House panel accuses feds of failing Epstein survivors for decades

The US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Tuesday released a 15-month investigative report accusing federal authorities of systemic failures that left survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell without protection for decades, documenting prosecutorial misconduct and institutional collapse spanning multiple administrations.

Committee Chairman James Comer said in a video address that federal negligence allowed abuse to continue unchecked. "These women endured unimaginable abuse, and the federal government failed them at nearly every turn," Comer said, adding, "Had the government done its job, much of this abuse could have been prevented."

Systemic prosecutorial, institutional failures

The investigation found that federal crimes committed by Epstein after 2005 could have been prevented had prosecutors in South Florida and Washington exercised proper oversight. Lawmakers highlighted a 2007 non-prosecution agreement brokered by the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, which permitted Epstein to plead guilty to lesser state charges rather than face federal indictment.

The agreement resulted in an 18-month sentence with extensive work-release privileges, during which Epstein continued to abuse women while prosecutors failed to notify victims of their rights to pursue civil remedies. The panel attributed these outcomes to "poor judgment" and Epstein's "far-reaching" influence, noting potential connections to two attorneys employed by the prosecutor's office at the time.

The report also documented catastrophic understaffing and institutional "dysfunction" at the federal detention center in New York where Epstein died by suicide in August 2019. Guards missed at least 12 patrol rounds and three inmate counts during the final hours, leaving the facility without adequate supervision for nearly eight hours.

Recommendations, referrals, legislative action

To deliver long-delayed accountability, the committee urged the Justice Department to re-interview Epstein's former assistant Lesley Groff regarding her alleged facilitation of criminal operations. The panel also referred former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine and French celebrity hairstylist Frederic Fekkai to federal law enforcement following sexual assault allegations raised during testimony by survivor Sarah Kellen.

The committee recommended establishing mechanisms granting survivors access to unredacted personal files and urged Congress to pass the Survivor's Voice Protection Act, which would prohibit using nondisclosure agreements to conceal sexual abuse. Addressing financial institutions, the report found that entities including American Express failed to act on clear indicators of human trafficking and immigration fraud, permitting dummy itineraries to transport foreign women to Epstein's properties.

Partisan disputes and ongoing transparency

The report accused committee Democrats of conducting an "unfounded witch hunt" attempting to implicate US President Donald Trump, maintaining that witness consensus and financial records from multiple banks showed no evidence linking Trump to Epstein's criminal network. The findings emerge as the US government continues releasing Epstein-related files under the Epstein Files Transparency Act amid sustained public pressure regarding heavily redacted documents.