Rep. Pete Sessions, the Texas Republican who serves on the House Oversight Committee, said this week that Jeffrey Epstein kept “thousands of hours of tapes” documenting activity inside his homes, at his parties, and on his private island — recordings that Sessions suggested may hold critical clues as lawmakers escalate their demands for transparency from the Department of Justice.
Epstein, the disgraced financier who died by suicide in federal custody in 2019, has returned to the center of political debate after the Oversight Committee released thousands of emails to and from him, some dating back more than a decade.
The documents include a 2011 message in which Epstein claimed that Donald Trump, then a private citizen and a friend, “spent hours at my house” with an individual whose name was redacted and whom Democrats labeled as a “Victim.” Committee Republicans sharply rejected that characterization, arguing that the person was Virginia Giuffre — who publicly stated she never witnessed Trump behave improperly. Giuffre died by suicide earlier this year.
Other messages included Epstein’s assertion that Trump “knew about the girls” and a claim that he “gave” his ex-girlfriend to Trump. These emails, some Republicans say, underscore the need to review the full record rather than rely on selective disclosures. The House is expected to vote Tuesday on whether to formally demand that the Justice Department release its Epstein files. Trump has opposed that effort; according to reports, his attorney general informed him this summer that his name appears in those files.
It was against that backdrop that Sessions appeared on CNN on Friday, where anchor Pamela Brown pressed him to clarify his reference to “tapes.” Sessions responded by describing what he characterized as a vast archive of footage long known to federal authorities. “There are thousands of hours” of recordings, he said, claiming the material had been in the possession of Alex Acosta, the former U.S. Attorney who in 2008 negotiated the controversial plea agreement that shielded Epstein from federal prosecution.
“Well, there are thousands of hours of tapes,” Sessions reiterated. “Each of these three areas, at least, on the islands and in Florida. Alex [Acosta] had, presumptively, hundreds of hours of tapes of bedrooms, of parties, of people who were there. And there was a lot of information that we have yet to actually see the evidence of.”
Sessions’ comments echoed long-standing conservative frustrations over what they view as a pattern of secrecy surrounding the Epstein scandal — and the perception that the Justice Department has been reluctant to make public the full extent of Epstein’s activities and associations. According to a DOJ memo issued in July, “a large portion” of the materials in its Epstein files consist of child pornography and “images and videos” depicting victims who appear to be minors, complicating decisions about what can legally be released.
The newly disclosed emails have also revived media interest in a 2003 birthday card that The Wall Street Journal reported was sent by Trump to Epstein. The card featured a doodle of a woman’s torso with a small written dialogue, ending with: “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.” Trump has denied sending the card and is suing the Journal for $10 billion in a libel action.
As Congress prepares for a consequential vote, Sessions’ remarks suggest that the unresolved questions surrounding Epstein — and the government’s handling of his case — may be far from settled.
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