US federal authorities could have prevented Epstein crimes, report finds

What the report says

A Republican-led US House Oversight Committee says federal investigators and prosecutors could have prevented some of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes after 2005, according to a final report released on Tuesday following a 15-month investigation. The BBC reports that the panel reviewed witness interviews, depositions, government files and financial records as it examined what it called the long-running mishandling of cases involving Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

The committee concluded that the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Florida reached a 2007 deal with Epstein instead of fully pursuing allegations in other states. It also said Epstein’s 2019 death in a New York prison cell came amid institutional failures such as staffing shortages, weak recordkeeping and lax security. The report said the evidence could not fully rule out questions about the loss of surveillance footage.

The report further criticized the Justice Department over document releases that exposed survivors’ personal information, and it alleged that some financial institutions helped Epstein move workers across borders using decoy travel records. It recommended new legislation to curb the use of non-disclosure agreements in ways that can silence survivors. Separately, Republicans said the review found no documents implicating Donald Trump, while Democrats complained the inquiry was incomplete and lacked public hearings.