A congressional report has called for fresh criminal investigations into associates of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, accusing prosecutors, banks and influential figures of helping his abuse continue for years.
The findings have renewed scrutiny of President Donald Trump’s longstanding friendship with Epstein. Mr Trump has denied knowing about Epstein’s crimes.
Claims that Mr Trump helped conceal parts of the investigation sparked the first major rupture between the president and his support base since he returned to the White House.
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee urged the US Justice Department to interview or reinterview key witnesses and examine allegations involving two prominent men linked to the disgraced financier.
Investigators also recommended further questioning of Lesley Groff, a longtime Epstein assistant, about what she may have known of his crimes.
Ms Groff said she had never suspected Epstein of sexually abusing women and girls. Republican members of the committee said they did not find her testimony credible.
The recommendations followed a 15-month congressional inquiry that examined government and banking records and gathered testimony from prominent members of Epstein’s financial and social circles.
“Epstein operated with impunity, shielded and enabled by powerful connections and a justice system that repeatedly failed his victims,” committee chairman James Comer said.
The report said Epstein’s crimes after 2005 might have been stopped if federal investigators and prosecutors had pursued the original allegations against him with greater urgency.
Instead, prosecutors in Florida negotiated a controversial agreement in 2007 that allowed Epstein to avoid federal charges by pleading guilty to lesser state offences.
Epstein was sentenced to 18 months in jail but served 13 months, receiving broad work-release privileges during that period. According to the report, he continued abusing women while outside prison.
The inquiry also faulted financial institutions for failing to act on suspicious transactions and possible signs of human trafficking, specifically identifying American Express.
Lawmakers called on the US Treasury Department to review whether banks had properly reported suspicious activity potentially connected to trafficking and money laundering.
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
The report further condemned the Justice Department for revealing survivors’ private information while releasing files related to Epstein.
Republican investigators said they found no evidence connecting Mr Trump to Epstein’s crimes and accused Democrats of turning the inquiry into a political exercise.
Robert Garcia, the committee’s top Democrat, rejected the conclusions as the result of an incomplete investigation that held no public hearings. He also accused the Justice Department of unlawfully withholding “over 2.5 million pages of documents”.
Democrats, who took control of Congress in last week’s midterm elections, have pledged to continue examining Epstein’s network after assuming their new powers in January.
Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
His accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
