Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., told Newsmax on Monday that every member of Congress needs to review the Department of Justice's unredacted documents on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, responding to claims from Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., that previously concealed names in the records could be incriminating.
Comer is chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which has launched an investigation of crimes committed by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, his associate.
On "Rob Schmitt Tonight," he said he plans to spend three hours Tuesday at DOJ examining unredacted documents and encouraged lawmakers from both parties to do the same.
DOJ announced Friday that members of Congress could review unredacted versions of previously released documents related to Epstein. The move came after criticism that the Trump administration has improperly shielded the identities of various people.
"We already had some members of the Oversight Committee and some other committees in Congress that were invited to come in and look at all the Epstein documents unredacted," Comer said.
"We can take notes. I know I'm spending three hours in the Department of Justice tomorrow, and I'm encouraging every member of Congress in both parties to go in and see what we can find out."
Massie and Khanna, who together introduced the Epstein Files Transparency Act that President Donald Trump signed into law in November, reportedly said earlier Monday they viewed unredacted material and identified at least six names that had been previously withheld and that "would likely be incriminated" if released publicly.
Comer said he could not explain why certain names or passages were redacted while others were not but reiterated his long-standing position that the files should be made public.
"I can't answer why some things are redacted and some things aren't," he said. "I've always said from the start that I would love to see every Epstein file in America released with no redactions."
Comer noted, however, that the need to protect victims' privacy remains a complicating factor.
"One reason there are redactions is the victims want their names redacted, and that makes it complicated," he said. "So, it's a very difficult situation."
Epstein died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.
Maxwell was later convicted of sex trafficking minors and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Comer said the convictions themselves demonstrate the seriousness of the crimes and raise legitimate questions about those who continued to associate with Epstein after his 2008 guilty plea.
"Anyone that hung out with them, especially after he pled guilty in [2008], you have some explaining to do," Comer said. "We're going to do everything in our ability on my committee to get the truth to the American people and try to get some sort of justice for the victims."
He added, "Everybody's heart in Congress is in the right place."
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