House Republicans on the Judiciary Committee blocked Democratic efforts Wednesday to subpoena four major banks for records related to Jeffrey Epstein’s financial transactions.
The failed subpoena attempts came during a contentious five-hour hearing with FBI Director Patel, where Democrats criticized his handling of the Epstein files and his previous public calls for their release before becoming director.
Ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) sought to subpoena the CEOs of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, and Bank of New York Mellon, citing $1.5 billion in suspicious transactions these institutions flagged to federal regulators in connection with Epstein’s activities.
Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) swiftly moved to table Raskin’s motion, effectively killing further discussion. Only Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) broke ranks to side with Democrats.
Beyond the bank subpoenas, Democrats unsuccessfully sought to compel testimony from FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino regarding Epstein documentation and requested information about the transfer of Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell to a lower-security prison facility. The committee also blocked efforts to obtain suspicious activity reports from the Treasury Department.
The votes occurred amid broader Republican resistance to Epstein-related investigations, despite previous bipartisan interest in transparency. Rep. Massie has been leading a separate discharge petition effort to force release of all Epstein files, but has faced pressure from both House leadership and the Trump administration to abandon the initiative.
White House officials have reportedly been calling Republican lawmakers to discourage support for Epstein-related subpoenas and investigations. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), one of only four Republicans supporting Massie’s discharge petition, said she received “a lot of pushback” from the administration.
The House action mirrors similar resistance in the Senate, where Republicans narrowly defeated a Democratic amendment that would have forced the Justice Department to release Epstein case files. That 51-49 vote saw only Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) joining Democrats.
Despite the setbacks, some congressional oversight continues. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has been investigating Epstein’s financial transactions for years through his position on the Senate Finance Committee. Wyden’s staff previously reviewed Treasury Department documents showing over $4 billion in wire transfers involving Epstein and his associates from 2003 to 2019.
The House Oversight Committee has separately issued subpoenas for Epstein-related documents and suspicious activity reports from the Treasury Department, which the agency has indicated it will comply with.
