Washington, D.C. – Judicial Watch announced it has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice seeking records subpoenaed by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform concerning the federal investigation of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
The lawsuit, Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:25-cv-04123), follows the department’s lack of response to an August 22, 2025 FOIA request. Judicial Watch is seeking three categories of records: any documents provided to the House Oversight Committee in response to its August 5 subpoena; any materials used to prepare DOJ’s response; and all communications involving Attorney General Pamela Bondi or Deputy Attorney General Blanche regarding the subpoena and related records.
In early August, Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) issued deposition subpoenas to numerous former high-level officials—including Bill and Hillary Clinton; former Attorneys General William Barr, Alberto Gonzales, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, and Merrick Garland; and former FBI Directors Robert Mueller and James Comey—seeking testimony and documents from the period surrounding earlier federal investigations of Epstein. The committee also subpoenaed DOJ for records concerning Epstein’s prosecution history.
For example, the subpoena cover letter to former Attorney General Gonzales referenced the period from 2005-2007, when the FBI investigated Epstein for sex crimes and federal prosecutors drafted a 60-count indictment before negotiating a plea agreement in state court. That deal, reached shortly after Gonzales left office, granted Epstein and his associates federal immunity.
The new FOIA lawsuit comes amid continued scrutiny of Epstein’s criminal history. After Epstein’s 2019 federal arrest on sex-trafficking charges, investigators alleged he exploited and abused dozens of minors at residences in New York, Florida, and elsewhere. In 2008 he had pled guilty in Florida state court to two prostitution offenses and received a controversial non-prosecution agreement with federal authorities.
“The Justice Department should immediately release the information we requested regarding Epstein,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said. “Americans deserve the truth. It’s time to end the leaks and the guessing games.”
Judicial Watch has undertaken multiple FOIA actions related to the case in recent months. In October, it sued the Central Intelligence Agency for any records concerning Epstein’s potential interactions with the agency, his business dealings, travel, victim or witness information, and materials related to his death. In September, Judicial Watch sued DOJ over its communications with Axios regarding the outlet’s reporting on audio of former President Joe Biden’s 2023 interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur and the July 2025 memo asserting there is no Epstein “client list.”
Earlier this year, in a separate FOIA lawsuit, DOJ and FBI reported they were still searching for responsive records regarding Epstein’s associates—apparently contradicting a leaked, unsigned DOJ/FBI memo stating that no further Epstein records would be released to the public. Judicial Watch also filed suit in July seeking FBI interview records and other materials provided by Epstein accuser Virginia Louise Giuffre, who died in April 2025.
Judicial Watch says the latest lawsuit aims to enforce transparency and secure public access to documents Congress has already demanded from the department.
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