James Comer

James Comer is a Republican U.S. Representative from Kentucky’s 1st congressional district who has served as Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight since January 3, 2023, when he succeeded Carolyn Maloney. Before entering Congress in 2016, Comer served in the Kentucky House of Representatives and as Kentucky’s Agriculture Commissioner, and he was the Oversight Committee’s ranking member from 2020 to 2023 before taking the gavel. In his current role, he leads the committee’s investigation into the Department of Justice’s handling of records related to Jeffrey Epstein.

As chairman, Comer issued a subpoena to Attorney General Pam Bondi over the Justice Department’s collection, review, and release of records under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, CBS News reported. The committee voted on March 4 to approve the subpoena, with five Republicans joining all Democrats to advance it; the GOP members crossing over included Reps. Lauren Boebert, Tim Burchett, Michael Cloud, and Scott Perry, according to CBS News. In his letter to Bondi, Comer wrote that “as Attorney General, you are directly responsible for overseeing the Department’s collection, review, and determinations regarding the release of files pursuant to the Epstein Files Transparency Act,” and he said she possessed “valuable insight” into how the department handled the files.

The dispute over the format of Bondi’s appearance became a point of contention. According to NBC New York, Comer permitted Bondi to sit for a transcribed interview rather than a sworn deposition, a decision Democrats criticized by noting he had previously video-recorded depositions of other witnesses. Comer said Bondi could face prosecution if she lied to Congress and that the committee would release a transcript of the interview, describing the transcribed format as an incentive to cooperate, NBC New York reported. Addressing survivors gathered outside, Comer said, “We want justice for the survivors, we do,” and indicated he would press for the complete release of the case files mandated by law.

Is James Comer in the Epstein files?

Based on the sources reviewed for this profile, James Comer’s connection to the Epstein matter is as the lawmaker overseeing the congressional investigation, not as an individual personally named in the files as an Epstein associate. Both CBS News and NBC New York describe Comer in his official capacity as Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, conducting the probe into the Justice Department’s handling and release of Epstein-related records. None of the sources opened for this profile indicate that Comer appears in the files as a person connected to Epstein.