Jeffrey Epstein ran a sex trafficking network that exploited young women and children for decades — protected by wealth, power, and connections reaching into both political parties, Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and foreign governments.
When Congress confronts failures this sweeping, it establishes a select committee: Watergate, Iran-Contra, the Church Committee’s exposure of CIA and FBI abuses, and the January 6th investigation all followed this model.
The Epstein case demands the same, because the truth still isn’t out. The American people don’t trust the investigation is being conducted impartially. And Congress needs to act.
Congress Must Establish a Bipartisan Select Committee on the Epstein Files
The current process to uncover the truth is failing. Despite the Transparency Act passing 427 to 1, the DOJ released documents with hundreds of pages blacked out, tracked which members of Congress searched the files, and dragged its feet. The Oversight Committee investigation has devolved into partisan finger-pointing. A bipartisan Select Committee would change that.
What a Select Committee Must Do
- Deliver a complete public accounting of how the DOJ, FBI, and Bureau of Prisons failed victims — including the 2008 plea deal and Epstein’s death in custody
- Identify those who enabled, participated in, or covered up the trafficking operation — and refer criminal evidence for prosecution
- Expose how elite wealth buys impunity — including the role of banks, law firms, and political donors in shielding Epstein
- Pass legislative reforms to strengthen trafficking laws, mandate transparency in investigations involving public officials, and end elite donor influence over law enforcement
- Seek justice for survivors — center victims’ testimony and recommend restitution measures
Americans Have Lost Faith in The Current Investigation
Trust in this process has collapsed across the political spectrum. Americans don’t believe the DOJ under either party has acted in good faith. We see a two-tiered justice system where wealth and connections determine accountability. And survivors have watched institution after institution fail them for decades.
A bipartisan Select Committee is the only mechanism that can begin to restore that trust. It takes the investigation out of the hands of a Justice Department with documented conflicts of interest. It gives subpoena power to members of Congress in both parties. It holds public hearings where the American people can see the process in real time. And it puts elected officials — accountable to voters, not donors — in charge of following the evidence wherever it leads.
One Justice System For All of Us
Here in Maine, we don’t believe in one justice system for the powerful and another for working people. A person’s wealth, position, or connections should never dictate whether or not they are held accountable when they break the law. We must demand the same standards of our leaders in Washington.
If elected to Congress, I’ll champion these reforms and fight to establish a Select Committee. No more excuses. No more cover-ups. No one is above the law.