Thomas Massie was the sole Republican to join Democrats in voting to issue the subpoenas.
Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee blocked a Democratic effort to subpoena the chief executives of four major banks to obtain records related to their relationships with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Only one Republican, Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, supported the Democrats in their push to subpoena Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, Brian Moynihan of Bank of America, Christian Sewing of Deutsche Bank, and Robin Vince of Bank of New York. The subpoenas, which also targeted the Treasury Department, were focused on suspicious-transaction reports sent to the authorities by those four banks, flagging $1.5 billion in transactions related to Epstein.
JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank both paid hefty settlements to groups of Epstein’s victims in 2023 to resolve lawsuits stemming from their financial relationships with Epstein. Disgraced former JP Morgan executive Jes Staley was one of Epstein’s close friends and took multiple trips to Epstein’s infamous private estate, Little St. James island.
The bank handled more than $1 billion for Epstein despite internal worries about Epstein’s status as a sex offender and suspicious financial activity, including his frequently withdrawing large amounts of cash. Epstein’s accounts at JP Morgan were worth over $200 million and he helped the bank land high-profile clients. JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon expressed regret at the bank’s relationship with Epstein when asked about it at a lunch with Senate Republicans. Dimon said JP Morgan would comply with a subpoena if the bank received one.
Massie, the sole Republican to vote with Democrats on the subpoenas, is also leading the charge to force a floor vote to compel the Department of Justice to turn over additional records related to Epstein. Massie’s efforts have drawn the ire of the White House, which has accused him of colluding with Democrats to tarnish the president.
The subpoena attempt is separate from the House Oversight Committee’s investigative work on the Epstein matter. The Oversight panel is conducting the most expansive congressional investigation into the Epstein case and has requested the Treasury Department hand over the suspicious activity reports. The suspicious activity reports are documents financial institutions must file with the Treasury Department if they detect possible illegal conduct.
The Treasury Department said in a letter last week it would cooperate with the Oversight Committee’s requests for the suspicious activity reports.
Oversight Committee chairman James Comer (R., Ky.) has requested Epstein’s estate turn over cash ledgers showing tens of thousands of payments Epstein made to victims and other individuals. Epstein’s estate is working with the committee to provide documents pursuant to a subpoena the panel issued last month.
The subpoena vote came after a five-hour Wednesday Judiciary Committee hearing during which FBI Director Kash Patel testified that he has not spoken to President Trump about the federal government’s files on Epstein.
During a heated exchange with Representative Eric Swalwell (D., Calif.), Patel testified that he has not spoken to Trump about the files but did not give further details.
“I have never spoken to President Trump about the Epstein files,” Patel said.
Patel said that he and Attorney General Pam Bondi have spoken many times about the Epstein matter. But he did not tell Swalwell whether he talked to Bondi about Trump’s name appearing in Department of Justice investigative files related to Epstein.
Additionally, Patel did not comment on the specific number of times Trump’s name is mentioned in the Epstein documents after Swalwell and Representative Zoe Lofgren (D., Calif.) asked for him to give a number.
Patel sat before the congressional panel a day after testifying at a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing.
At both hearings, Patel called former U.S. Attorney for south Florida Alexander Acosta’s handling of the Epstein case the “original sin” at the heart of the matter. Acosta brokered the controversial plea deal that protected Epstein from federal charges in Florida as the FBI was investigating him for sex crimes. Epstein was convicted in 2008 for state-level sex crime charges and served a brief jail sentence.
President Trump’s name appears in Department of Justice investigative files alongside a host of other prominent and wealthy people who socialized and had professional contacts with Epstein, the Wall Street Journal reported in July. Trump, however, has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with his friendship with Epstein, which lasted from the 1990s to the mid-2000s.
Likewise, former Attorney General Bill Barr testified for the Oversight Committee’s investigation in August and said he saw no evidence that Trump committed criminal activity in connection with Epstein.
Trump has dismissed the uproar over the Epstein files as a hoax peddled by the Democratic Party. He previously promised to release everything related to Epstein for the sake of transparency.
Trump is suing the Wall Street Journal for reporting on a mysterious letter he allegedly wrote to Epstein for his 50th birthday in 2003. The letter became public earlier this month when the Oversight Committee released it as part of a set of documents the Epstein estate gave to the panel. Trump has called the letter fake and his officials disputed whether the signature on the letter is his.
Representative Jamie Raskin (D., Md.), ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, was one of numerous Democrats on the committee to press Patel about the Trump administration’s refusal to release the federal government’s Epstein files.
“I’m not going to break the law to satisfy your curiosity,” Patel bluntly told Raskin.