Jeffrey Epstein victims to get House committee hearing: Comer
House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY) speaks to reporters before the House Oversight Committee at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 18, 2026.
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Victims of Jeffrey Epstein will have a chance to speak about the late sex offender’s crimes at hearings of the House committee investigating him and his procurer Ghislaine Maxwell, the panel chairman said Friday.
Rep. James Comer’s pledge to hold those hearings comes a day after First Lady Melania Trump called on Congress to hold “a public hearing centered on the women victimized by Epstein…especially the survivors.”
“I agree with the First Lady and appreciate what she said,” Comer, R-Ky., said in the Fox News interview. “We will have hearings.”
Comer said hearings involving Epstein’s victims will be held after the incident. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee He has finished taking depositions from several high-profile people with ties to Epstein and his former associates.
Panel discussions were planned Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, billionaire Ted Waitt, federal prison guard Tova Noel and others.
The committee was scheduled to impeach former Attorney General Pam Bondi on April 14, but that hearing was canceled this week after the Justice Department said she had been subpoenaed as attorney general. Democrats on the committee threatened to file defamation charges against Bondi if he did not show up for the scheduled hearing.
“I always planned to have hearings with the victims,” Comer told Fox News on Friday.
“My attorneys on the Oversight Committee have been in constant communication for months with attorneys representing Epstein victims,” he said.
“There are some victims who want to come in. A lot of the victims don’t come, and I completely understand that. But we always planned to have a hearing with the Epstein victims after the depositions were completed.”
Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” opening monologue on the theme Thursday night echoed the surprise of many when Melania Trump issued a statement about Epstein and refuted the “lies” she said had been told about him, even though there was no obvious news or event in the media that could have motivated her to do so.
“The lies linking me to the shameful Jeffrey Epstein must end today,” the First Lady said at the White House.
“How about tomorrow? Because I’m hearing these lies just today,” Kimmel said.
