H.R. 7814 — EPSTEIN Act

This section establishes the Epstein Transparency and Accountability Commission in the legislative branch to examine and investigate all Department of Justice materials, including those held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Attorneys’ Offices, that are required to be preserved, disclosed, or maintained under Public Law 119–38.

This section establishes an eight-member commission with two members each appointed by the Senate majority leader, Senate minority leader, House Speaker, and House minority leader, all in consultation with the appropriate committees, within 60 days of enactment. It bars Members of Congress and Department of Justice employees from serving on or consulting for the commission, requires the chairperson and vice chairperson to be from different political parties, and authorizes procurement of experts and consultants who may receive referrals of credible evidence of crimes related to sex and labor trafficking.

This section establishes the functions of the Commission, directing it to conduct an independent investigation into criminal violations by Jeffrey Epstein and associates, review all unredacted Epstein files, refer matters for prosecution under chapter 77 of title 18, United States Code, or relevant state law, promote transparency in Department of Justice human trafficking enforcement, and issue quarterly reports to Congress. It authorizes the Commission to request information from federal agencies in publicly available, searchable format, issue subpoenas enforceable by district courts, and certify noncompliance to U.S. attorneys for grand jury action.

This section requires the Commission to submit to Congress, within 18 months of its establishment, a report on the results of its investigation into human trafficking. The report must be unclassified to the greatest extent possible, with a classified annex only if necessary, and the unclassified portion must be posted on a public website. It must include updates on pending perpetrator cases, a description of federal efforts to estimate prevalence in the Epstein investigation, an examination of victim assistance policies, an analysis of victims’ demographic characteristics by region, and recommendations to address unique vulnerabilities. The Commission may withhold personally identifiable victim information, child sexual abuse material, and images of death or physical abuse.