House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said Thursday that President Donald Trump has been “completely exonerated” in documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, pushing back on renewed scrutiny surrounding the case.
Comer made the remarks during an appearance on Fox News’ Hannity, where he discussed the arrest of former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor over his ties to Epstein and addressed lingering questions about Trump’s name appearing in recently released Justice Department files.
When host Sean Hannity asked why former Attorney General Merrick Garland did not focus more heavily on the Epstein case during his tenure at the Department of Justice, Comer suggested that Democrats only began showing serious interest in Epstein when speculation arose that Trump could be implicated.
“Well, the Democrats did not care about Epstein until someone had the notion that Donald Trump may have been involved,” Comer said. “What we have seen from the millions of documents that have been released is that Donald Trump is completely exonerated in the whole Epstein saga.”
Comer argued that if there had been damaging evidence against Trump, it would have already surfaced. He pointed to what he described as the president’s numerous political adversaries within federal agencies.
“If there had been any dirt on Donald Trump, that would have leaked out because Donald Trump has that many enemies in the Department of Justice, in the deep state apparatuses that were supposed to be investigating Epstein,” Comer said. “So with respect to Trump, I don’t think there’s anything there.”
President Trump has also forcefully denied any wrongdoing. Speaking to reporters Tuesday aboard Air Force One, Trump declared that he had been “totally exonerated” in the files.
“I have nothing to hide! I’ve been exonerated! I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein,” the president said.
Trump’s name reportedly appears thousands of times in the latest DOJ release of Epstein-related documents, including multiple claims of sexual misconduct against him. However, Comer said earlier this month that Trump would not be called to testify before his committee, unlike others whose names appear in the files.
“Well, I’ve noticed that every time you all do a gaggle like this with President Trump, somebody asks him about Epstein. So he’s been answering questions about Epstein,” Comer said, noting that the president has addressed the issue publicly on numerous occasions.
Trump has at times offered differing descriptions of his past relationship with Epstein and has occasionally pushed back against reporters seeking more detail.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche stated in a letter Friday that “all” files tied to Epstein had been released. That claim was later questioned in a report from U.K.-based broadcaster Channel 4 News, which alleged that the released documents account for “just 2%” of the data investigators previously referenced in email exchanges.
As debate continues over the scope of the document release, Comer remains firm that the material made public so far clears the president of wrongdoing. The Oversight chairman framed the issue as another example of what he sees as politically motivated attempts to link Trump to scandal, while emphasizing that the released records, in his view, tell a different story.
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