Questioning of Patel Turns to Epstein Files

FBI Director Kash Patel defended the Trump administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files Wednesday as he returned to Capitol Hill for a second day to face intense questioning from Democrats over his promises of transparency surrounding the disgraced financier's criminal case. After Tuesday's questioning before the Senate Judiciary Committee about whether Patel has politicized the bureau, the political blowback over the Trump administration's decision not to publicly release more investigative files from Epstein's case was at the center of Patel's five-hour appearance on Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee, the AP reports. Topics included:

• Epstein files: The top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, played a clip from a 2023 interview in which Patel said the FBI had Epstein's "black book" with client names. After a lengthy review, the Justice Department in July said that there was no evidence a so-called "client list" existed and that it would not be publicly releasing any more files. "How did you go from being a crusader for accountability and transparency for the Epstein files to being a part of the conspiracy and coverup?" Raskin asked.
• Patel answers: The FBI director repeatedly defended his handling of the files and insisted the FBI had released everything that it was "legally allowed" to. He pointed to judges' rulings denying Justice Department requests to unseal grand jury transcripts in the case. Those rulings, however, don't bar the Justice Department from releasing other investigative files related to the case.
• The birthday card: Patel signaled that the FBI would investigate Trump's claim that a sexually suggestive letter to Epstein in 2003 purportedly carrying the president's signature was forged. The letter was released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee earlier this month after being handed over by the Epstein estate. Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz pushed Patel to say whether he would be "opening up an investigation into the Epstein estate for putting out a fake document." Patel initially responded: "On what basis?" But when Moskowitz asked again, Patel responded: "Sure, I'll do it."
• Tension: As was the case with Patel's appearance one day earlier on the Senate side, Wednesday's hearing featured fiery exchanges with Democrats. That includes a shouting match that included Patel telling Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell he's "a disgrace to the American people."

• Praise from a Democrat: Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee praised the FBI's participation in a law enforcement surge in Memphis called Operation Viper. "You did a good job. The police director and the mayor have told me that has been helpful, the FBI working with the police," Cohen said. The White House posted on social media that the Memphis total crime rate was higher than the national average and suggested that it had increased since last year, bucking national trends. That's despite Memphis police recently reporting decreases across every major crime category in the first eight months of 2025 compared to the same period in previous years. Overall crime hit a 25-year low, while murder hit a six-year low, police said.
• On Russia: Republicans focused on one of Trump's chief grievances, the long-concluded federal investigation into ties between Russia and his 2016 presidential campaign. Patel on Wednesday said the fact that it was launched at all was a "massive scandal." Patel confirmed that the FBI is investigating aspects of the Trump-Russia investigation, including leaks to the news media, the discovery of documents from the probe that were found in so-called "burn bags" in FBI headquarters, and the production of an intelligence community assessment that was published in January 2017 and documented Russian interference.