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House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY) raised grave concerns this week in an interview with Benny Johnson, suggesting that the files related to Jeffrey Epstein’s global sex-trafficking and blackmail operation may have been destroyed — and that elements within the federal government may have played a role in concealing the evidence.
In a newly released interview, Comer disclosed that despite public orders from both President Trump and the U.S. Attorney General to release the Epstein files, they remain withheld — and possibly no longer exist.
“I don’t think the Department of Justice has [the Epstein files]—or at least the Attorney General does not have them—or she would have turned them over,” Comer said. “The President ordered them released. The Attorney General ordered them released. We all know they have not been released.”
In the interview clip shared on X by Benny Johnson, Comer expressed that one of his biggest fears prior to the presidential transition was that “they’re probably in there shredding documents as we speak.” He said he warned key allies like Pam Bondi and Kash Patel to act quickly before potential evidence could be destroyed.
Comer, who has been a leading figure in investigations into federal overreach and alleged political bias within government agencies, said he fears a systemic cover-up may be in play, suggesting the files may have been eliminated to protect government entities, not just individuals.
“They cover their tracks, and it’s just hard for me to believe they’re going to leave incriminating evidence,” Comer said. “If the government was involved—if the government wasn’t involved, I don’t think they would have any reason to protect Bill Clinton or Hillary Clinton… The concern I’ve always had about the Epstein file is: was the government involved?”
Comer further raised the possibility that Epstein may have been working with government officials or intelligence agencies, possibly even to gather blackmail material on high-profile individuals.
“Did the government know? Was the government using Epstein and the videos to blackmail the most influential people around the world?” Comer asked. “If that’s the case, then they knew there were victims of sex crimes there—and they did nothing. That’s the concern I have.”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), who leads the congressional Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, has also pushed for transparency around the Epstein files. However, Comer said even Luna is now “pretty frustrated” by the DOJ’s refusal to comply.
“She’s relentless, she’s persistent, and she’s pretty frustrated right now that these files haven’t been released, even though the President and the Attorney General have ordered them released,” Comer said.
The Kentucky congressman argued that what’s at stake is more than political scandal — it’s potential criminal negligence by the federal government in failing to stop crimes against minors.
“I don’t think the American people would be okay if the government knew that crimes against young women were occurring, and yet they did nothing to intervene,” he said.
Though no hard proof of file destruction has been made public, Comer’s accusations mark one of the most direct allegations yet from a sitting member of Congress that federal agencies may have actively suppressed evidence tied to Epstein’s vast criminal enterprise.
Watch the full clip from Benny Johnson’s interview with Rep. Comer here.