The Washington Post - The man who got the Epstein subpoena
The House Oversight Committee is made for viral moments. It deals with some of the testiest issues on Capitol Hill, and many of the dramatic confrontations that make the rounds on social media are from the committee. It once again thrust itself into the spotlight after one of its subcommittees voted to subpoena the Justice Department’s files on Jeffrey Epstein, going further on the case than Republican leadership seemed willing to go.
Enter Rep. Robert Garcia (California), the second-term Democrat selected by his party to lead them on the committee — and the man who bypassed the committee’s Republican leadership to subpoena the files.
Garcia has been the top ranking Democrat on the committee since June. He’s using the position to model how Democrats can push back on the Trump administration as voters repeatedly implore Democratic lawmakers to be more aggressive.
“One of the first things I told everybody is, we have got to be aggressive, and we have got to push back, and not just wait until we win control,” Garcia told us. “The fight starts today, and I want us to come up with ways that we can use the Oversight Committee to get results and to get transparency.”
He cited the subpoena as a prime example — using committee procedure to force action even when the party is in the minority. He targeted the House Oversight subcommittee on federal law enforcement because he knew it had a number of Republicans who were sympathetic to releasing the Epstein files, he told us, and was able to get enough Republicans on the subcommittee to vote with the Democratic members to approve a subpoena.
The full committee is now required to issue a subpoena, which the team of Chairman James Comer said he would do soon. Garcia wrote to Comer (Kentucky) urging him to issue the subpoena as soon as possible.
“The Oversight Committee will be the tip of the spear in taking on Donald Trump,” Garcia told us. “We’re well positioned to do that, and we’re not waiting until we win the majority back. We’re doing it now.”
Garcia is eager to demonstrate a new leadership style from past Democrats. He cast his candidacy to be the ranking Democrat as a generational changing of the guard, differentiating himself from more senior candidates including Stephen F. Lynch of Massachusetts and Kweisi Mfume of Maryland.
The previous ranking member, Virginia’s Gerry Connolly, died in May, opening the position. Connolly ran against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York) for the role last year, another young Democrat who made a similar pitch as Garcia.
“He brings a deep understanding of the challenges our communities and country face, and has demonstrated an unwavering commitment and ability to meet the moment,” Rep. Summer Lee, the top Democrat on the federal law enforcement subcommittee, said in a statement. “Under his leadership, Democrats are prepared to take this fight exactly where it needs to go.”
Epstein offers a unique opportunity for Garcia to prove himself, with heightened interest in the case from the public and from several of his colleagues across the aisle. Garcia also has his eyes set on tackling other contentious, high-profile issues including deportations to the maximum-security prison CECOT in El Salvador.
Garcia is hardly the first to recognize the power of the committee. Republicans under Comer have relentlessly investigated former president Joe Biden, beginning when he was in office. Oversight Committee Republicans led the probes into Biden’s family and directed the unsuccessful impeachment inquiry into Biden. They are continuing to investigate Biden’s mental acuity while he was in office, including whether staff acted on his behalf. (Garcia waved off pursuing impeachment now and said that would have to be a party-wide decision.)
But Garcia’s recent maneuver to secure the Epstein subpoena is notable because he managed to get it done while in the minority, going beyond what Republican leadership was comfortable pursuing on Epstein.
Comer has also made steps to address interest in Epstein, even if he didn’t go as far as to push for a full release of the Justice Department documents, which Trump has made clear he opposes. Oversight Committee Republicans also voted to interview Ghislaine Maxwell, an Epstein accomplice who is serving prison time for sex trafficking, and issue subpoenas on several prominent former Justice Department figures, including former FBI director James B. Comey; former attorneys general Merrick Garland, William P. Barr, Jeff Sessions, Loretta E. Lynch, Eric Holder and Alberto Gonzales; and former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. They also threw in Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Comer knew Democrats would make a go for releasing the files during subcommittee hearings last week and warned Republican leadership about it at the time, a Republican aide told us. Democrats had previously made moves to subpoena, including Elon Musk. He also knew several Republicans were likely to support the Epstein subpoena, so the approval didn’t come as a surprise, the aide said.
Comer has to sign off on the subpoena before it goes out but has yet to do so.