Comer calls it ‘unacceptable’ after Alan Dershowitz rejects Epstein panel appearance
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., on Tuesday called it “unacceptable” that attorney Alan Dershowitz did not show up Monday for a scheduled interview as part of the committee’s investigation of convicted sex offenders. jeffrey epstein.
“Your attorney has failed to provide a reason for your refusal to testify,” Comer wrote in a letter to Dershowitz on Tuesday. “When committee staff contacted your attorney via email on July 15 and 17, 2026, your attorney was once again unable to provide an explanation for your refusal to participate in your written interview.”
“This is unacceptable,” Comer wrote.
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In a brief phone interview with ABC News last Friday, Dershowitz said his lawyers “have instructed him that he is not allowed to testify at this time.”
He declined to provide additional information about the reason or when it might be rescheduled.
Dershowitz was a member of the legal team that represented Epstein during multiple investigations into the now-deceased sex offender, starting in the mid-2000s.
Comer requested that Dershowitz appear for a videotaped interview after consulting several Epstein victims after Epstein’s former administrative secretary appeared before the panel. Lesley Groff.
Amir Cohen/Reuters – Alan Dershowitz poses for a photo during his visit to Israel in Tel Aviv on December 8, 2022.
“We’ll have questions for him,” Comer said of Dershowitz on June 10. “We will give him the opportunity to come in and answer the multitude of questions that arose yesterday based on Ms. Groff’s testimony and some of the things some of Epstein’s survivors have said.”
Dershowitz has previously said he is willing to appear before a House panel regarding his work representing Epstein and that he “has a lot of relevant information” about the disgraced financier.
In a telephone interview with ABC News in early June, Dershowitz said he was “shocked” that the committee had not yet reached out to schedule an interview.
“I would be the most caring person they could call,” Dershowitz said. “I want it to be open. I want it to be under oath.”
Dershowitz claimed to have information that would contradict some of the testimony the committee had already heard, alleging that some of Epstein’s victims were “accomplices.”
“The area is much grayer than it appears,” Dershowitz said.
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Comer now requests that Dershowitz testify for a videotaped, in-person interview on September 2, 2026.
“The Committee is committed to conducting a transparent investigation and expects you to be forthright. The Committee will not tolerate any further delay,” Comer wrote in his letter.
“If you fail to comply with this request, the Committee will investigate all available tools at its disposal, including the use of mandatory process,” he wrote.
