The chairman of the Oversight Committee, Congressman James Comer, says the Department of Justice on Friday will begin handing over documents related to the personal and business affairs of a notorious sex criminal, Jeffrey Epstein. The panel had asked that the files be turned over by Tuesday, though the Republican majority is giving Attorney General Pam Bondi extra time. 

Mr. Comer has found himself at the heart of the congressional inquiry into Epstein and his ties to some of the world’s most powerful individuals. He has already subpoenaed President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, six former U.S. attorneys general, and two ex-FBI directors. 

He was due to receive the justice department records on Tuesday, after hearing testimony from a former attorney general, Bill Barr, on Monday. Mr. Comer now says he will let Ms. Bondi take additional time to protect victims’ identities. 

“Officials with the Department of Justice have informed us that the Department will begin to provide Epstein-related records to the Oversight Committee this week on Friday. There are many records in DOJ’s custody, and it will take the Department time to produce all the records and ensure the identification of victims and any child sexual abuse material are redacted,” Mr. Comer said in a statement Monday. 

“I appreciate the Trump Administration’s commitment to transparency and efforts to provide the American people with information about this matter,” he said. 

On Monday, Mr. Comer conducted a deposition with Mr. Barr on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol complex. He said that the former attorney general — who was the first person called before the committee as part of the Epstein inquiry — said he never discussed Epstein with President Trump.

“What Attorney General Barr testified in there was that he never had conversations with President Trump pertaining to a client list. He didn’t know anything about a client list. He said that he had never seen anything that would implicate President Trump in any of this,” Mr. Comer told reporters after the deposition. 

“He believed if there had been anything pertaining to President Trump with respect to the Epstein list, that he felt like the Biden administration would have probably leaked it out,” the chairman added. 

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee leapt at the chance to mock their GOP colleagues for giving Ms. Bondi and her team a grace period in turning over the documents. 

“Tomorrow is the deadline for the Trump Administration to release the full, unredacted Epstein files. Late or partial disclosures won’t cut it. Our committee wants transparency, and we can’t trust the DOJ to be honest,” they wrote on X. 

The Epstein files drama is not likely to abate once Congress returns for its work period after Labor Day. If Speaker Johnson had hoped that an early departure for August recess would quell the uproar, it seems he may have miscalculated. 

Two lawmakers — Congressman Thomas Massie, a Republican, and Congressman Ro Khanna, a Democrat — plan to force a vote on a measure that would compel Ms. Bondi to release the files once the House returns for work. They even plan to hold a press event with alleged Epstein victims at the Capitol the day lawmakers return to the nation’s capital.