Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said Friday that the estate of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein will hand over the infamous “birthday book” and other documents early next month.
“The estate is actually going to actually now get us that book and a bunch of other documents that they have that’s actually not been reported yet,” Garcia said during a late Friday appearance on MSNBC. “We’re gonna get those documents, as we understand it now, on September the 8th. And so that will continue our investigation.”
The estate is expected to include the content of the book, which reportedly includes a lewd 2003 birthday card that Trump handed to Epstein for the convicted sex offender’s 50th birthday, according to Garcia. The president has pushed back on the reporting and filed a legal complaint against the Wall Street Journal, who first reported on the book.
The turnover of documents comes just days after House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) issued a subpoena, asking the estate of Epstein’s will to provide any documents related to a so-called “client list,” any “black books” that contain contacts, an alleged book of letters Epstein’s friends gave to him and other documents.
“It is our understanding that the Estate of Jeffrey Epstein is in custody and control of documents that may further the Committee’s investigation and legislative goals,” Comer said Monday. “Further, it is our understanding the Estate is ready and willing to provide these documents to the Committee pursuant to a subpoena.”
Garcia added that some of Epstein’s accusers are set to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill next week to “highlight their stories.”
Former Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, who approved Epstein’s plea deal in 2007 while serving as a federal prosecutor in Southern Florida, will sit down for a transcribed interview with the committee on Sept. 19. The plea deal included a federal non-prosecution agreement.
The panel has also subpoenaed the Justice Department (DOJ) as part of its ongoing probe, seeking additional documents. This case has been a challenge for President Trump’s administration, particularly after the DOJ and FBI released an unsigned July memo saying that Epstein indeed killed himself in 2019, there was no “client list” or evidence names were being kept for blackmail purposes.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has defended the administration’s findings, moved earlier this month to unseal the grand jury testimonies of Epstein and co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell at Trump’s direction. The efforts have thus far been rejected by the courts.
