A US panel investigating the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein has requested that the executors of his estate produce a number of documents, including a book said to have contained personal messages for his 50th birthday.
The subpoena from James Comer, the leader of the House Oversight Committee, represents an expansion of his investigation into Epstein, the disgraced late paedophile financier.
Last month, the Wall Street Journal reported that the birthday book his associate Ghislaine Maxwell created in 2003 contained submissions from various Epstein acquaintances, including a bawdy note allegedly bearing the name of Donald Trump, who was then his friend.
Trump has denied writing any such letter.
The president said the alleged note was “fake” and began defamation proceedings against the Journal’s parent company and its owner, Rupert Murdoch. The company, Dow Jones, stood by its reporting and vowed to fight the legal case.
Comer’s subpoena asks that the executors of Epstein’s estate provide “all entries contained within the reported leather-bound book compiled by Ms Ghislaine Maxwell”. It gives a deadline of 8 September for the item to be turned over.
A lawyer for the Epstein estate confirmed receipt of the request, and said the executors would “comply with all lawful process in this matter, and that includes the Committee’s subpoena”.
Among other papers, it also requests any non-disclosure agreements executed by Epstein over a three-decade period, and his will preceding his death in jail in 2019.
It further demands “any document or record that could be reasonably construed to be a potential list of clients involved in sex, sex acts, or sex trafficking” by Epstein.
It has been suggested that unreleased Epstein files could contain a so-called client list that might implicate high-profile associates besides Maxwell in his criminal operation.
However, the US Department of Justice and FBI have stated that no such list existed.
And for her part, Maxwell – who is serving time in jail for her involvement in Epstein’s offences – also denied that there was a list, when recently questioned by a US Department of Justice (DoJ) official.
But conspiracy theories persist.
And for weeks, Trump has been haunted by the words “Epstein files”, as pressure grows from his supporters and prominent figures in his own Republican Party for more transparency on what previous investigations into Epstein uncovered.
As part of his own probe, Comer earlier issued subpoenas to the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and high-profile figures including former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Reports emerged that Trump himself was told in May by Attorney General Pam Bondi that his name appeared in files related to the investigations.
He was friends with Epstein for some years before, by Trump’s account, they fell out in about 2004. Being named in the files would not be evidence of any criminal activity, nor has Trump ever been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
While campaigning for the presidency, Trump said he would be open to making public more information. But he recently changed his position, saying the case was closed and criticising his own supporters who have continued to press him on it.
By BBC News
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