Jeffrey Epstein in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2004
The words "Epstein files" have been haunting the Trump administration for weeks as it grapples with a growing crisis stemming from the sex crimes of late convicted paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.$XRP
Pressure has been growing from President Donald Trump's own supporters and from voices within his own Republican Party for more transparency on what the investigations into Epstein uncovered.
The US Justice Department is planning to hand over to Congress documents from its investigation into Epstein after the House Oversight Committee subpoenaed the agency in August, Republican chairman James Comer said this week.$SOL
The panel is expected to start receiving the materials on Friday. As a part of its investigation, the committee has also issued subpoenas to high-profile figures including eight former law enforcement leaders as well as former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Reports emerged that Trump himself was told in May by his attorney general that his name appeared in files related to the investigations.
He was friends with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, and being named is not evidence of any criminal activity, nor has Trump ever been accused of wrongdoing in connection with the Epstein matter.
The president said while campaigning for the 2024 election that he would be open to making public more information.
But he changed his position earlier this month, saying the case was closed and even criticising his own supporters who have continued to press him on it.
