(NewsNation) — Former U.S. Attorney General William Barr appeared Monday before the House Oversight Committee as part of a review of the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation.
Barr, who served as attorney general during President Donald Trump’s first term, is one of several people subpoenaed for a deposition earlier this month by committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky. He was the first person to give a deposition.
After the hearing wrapped, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said she would be looking into bringing in more potential witnesses, mentioning former Trump Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, who was a Florida prosecutor who made a plea deal with Epstein in his first conviction in 2008.
A DOJ report from 2020 found that Acosta exercised “poor judgment” in handling the state’s investigation into the disgraced financier.
Comer also said he would be open to more investigation and possibly bringing in Acosta, telling The Hill, “We’ll bring in everyone what we think can add information to the investigation.”
Comer added that Barr said he didn’t have any information that would implicate President Trump in matters relating to Epstein and that he and Trump had no conversations about a client list, nor did he have the knowledge of one.
Barr personally reviewed the 11 hours of footage from the New York jail where Epstein was held on the night of his death. He later told the Associated Press that no one entered the area where Epstein was held and agreed with the medical examiner’s conclusion that he died by suicide in August 2019.
Barr said he was “appalled” when Epstein was found dead in his cell, and added that he was concerned about “serious irregularities” at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. A report from the Department of Justice indicated the jail failed to follow required measures to make sure Epstein was safe, among other standards.
DOJ will turn over Epstein docs to Oversight panel
Comer announced shortly after Monday’s hearing that the Justice Department informed him that it would begin to provide documents relating to Epstein on Friday.
“There are many records in DOJ’s custody, and it will take the Department time to produce all the records and ensure the identification of victims and any child sexual abuse material are redacted,” Comer said in a statement. “I appreciate the Trump Administration’s commitment to transparency and efforts to provide the American people with information about this matter.”
On Aug. 5, Comer issued a subpoena to the Justice Department for all records related to the Epstein investigation.
Some Democratic members of the committee criticized the planned Friday release, saying the department is failing to fully comply with the original deadline to release all documents, which was set for Tuesday, Aug. 19.
At the time of his death, Epstein was awaiting trial on charges that he sexually abused women and teenage girls as young as 14.