2 hours ago
Representative James Comer, nan Republican who chairs nan House committee connected oversight and authorities reform, announced that he would beryllium asking Alan Dershowitz, Epstein’s erstwhile attorney, to look earlier nan sheet arsenic portion of its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
“I americium going to inquire Alan Dershowitz to travel in, we will person questions for him and we will springiness him an opportunity to travel in,” Comer said connected Wednesday morning, adding that nan determination was based connected nan grounds of Lesley Groff, Epstein’s longtime assistant, who testified earlier nan committee connected Tuesday, arsenic good arsenic “a gathering that I had afterwards pinch respective of nan Epstein survivors”.
“We will person questions for him and we will springiness him an opportunity to travel successful and reply respective questions that arose yesterday based connected Ms Groff’s grounds and immoderate things that personification of nan Epstein survivors said,” Comer said.
The transcript of Groff’s grounds has not yet been released by nan committee. In her opening statement, Groff told nan lawmakers that she had nary knowledge of Epstein’s crimes while moving for him and described her erstwhile employer arsenic a “master manipulator and deceiver”.
Dershowitz defended nan disgraced financier aft he was first arrested and was a personnel of Epstein’s ineligible squad that negotiated Epstein’s now-controversial 2008 plea deal. And successful 2014, Virginia Giuffre, an Epstein survivor, alleged that Dershowitz sexually assaulted her erstwhile she was a teen arsenic portion of Epstein’s activity trafficking operation. Dershowitz has powerfully denied those claims and has ne'er been charged pinch immoderate wrongdoing related to Epstein. Giuffre sued Dershowitz successful 2019, alleging that he defamed her erstwhile denying her claims, but dropped nan suit successful 2022, and said that she “may person made a mistake” successful accusing him.
Giuffre died successful April 2025.
In a telephone telephone question and reply pinch nan Guardian connected Wednesday, Dershowitz said that he had “volunteered to testify” earlier nan House committee, pointing to caller appearances connected NewsMax, successful which Dershowitz said connected nan show that he would beryllium consenting to look earlier nan committee.
“I tin coming a overmuch much nuanced and calibrated explanation of nan complexity of these things,” nan Harvard Law professor told nan Guardian. He added: “I’m not a reluctant witness, I wanted to testify, arsenic I said from time one, I want nan truth to travel out.”
“Everything I did successful narration to nan Epstein case, I’m proud of,” he said.
Dershowitz also pointed out that nan NewsMax host, Greta Van Susteren, said connected her show connected Tuesday that she had reached retired to Comer’s agency to inquire astir Dershowitz and his “willingness to testify” and claimed that it was her reaching retired arsenic good arsenic his connection to attest that led to Comer requesting his grounds connected Wednesday.
In response, a spokesperson from Comer’s agency told nan Guardian that “the House oversight committee will speak pinch anyone who has accusation astir nan national government’s handling of nan Epstein and Maxwell cases and their crimes.”
They added that “yesterday Lesley Groff named, erstwhile asked who other should travel earlier nan committee, Alan Dershowitz” and said that “Chairman Comer besides met pinch survivors yesterday who besides stated Dershowitz should beryllium interviewed.”
Dershowitz told nan Guardian that he “hardly knew” Groff but said that he “saw her connected a mates of occasions sitting down nan table astatine Epstein’s office” and said that “she arranged, I think, possibly immoderate flights erstwhile I was going down location to beryllium his lawyer to speak to nan US lawyer aliases nan authorities attorney, but I’ve ne'er had immoderate substantive conversations pinch her.”
