Overview
- House Oversight Democrats, who sent letters Friday, set an April 9 deadline for three private investigators to agree to transcribed interviews and to preserve any Epstein materials, with subpoenas possible if they refuse.
- Justice Department records show more than 100 items were taken from Epstein’s Palm Beach home in 2005, including three desktop computers and 29 bound phone directories, and police later noted missing machines, including one tied to his surveillance system.
- The Justice Department’s internal watchdog said in 2020 there was good reason to believe the computers held relevant and potentially critical information that Epstein did not want disclosed.
- Epstein attorney Darren Indyke told the committee the hard drives were with private investigators and likely never reached law enforcement, after federal efforts to recover them were dropped when Epstein accepted a 2008 plea deal.
- The current location of the materials is unclear, though invoices and a 2009 statement by investigator William Riley describe long-term storage, a gap that could affect victims seeking records and any new accountability.