The top political stories of the week : NPR

Lawmakers’ quest to uncover information related to the investigation of convicted sex offender and financier Jefferey Epstein continued this week.

Members of the Trump administration testified before Congress, as did Epstein’s convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell. Members of Congress are still seeking answers on the Justice Department’s redactions in the files and the investigation overall. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom continues with its own reckoning.

The massive tranche of documents — including emails, photos and other documents — are materials collected during the Justice Department’s investigation into Epstein and Maxwell. Many of the documents include unverified claims and little if any context. Congress passed a law mandating their release, and lawmakers are now combing through them seeking further accountability for the victims.

Here is a round of up of the top political news related to the Epstein files this week:

Maxwell testimony 

Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20-years in prison for a child sex trafficking scheme with Epstein, appeared by video for a deposition in front of the House Oversight Committee on Monday. Republicans and Democrats sought answers to a myriad of questions, including who were the other co-conspirators involved in the sex trafficking ring and which men sexually abused girls.

But lawmakers weren’t able to get much of anything out of Maxwell. She refused to testify and invoked her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent to avoid self-incrimination. Instead, her lawyer, David Oscar Markus, read a prepared statement to the committee. Maxwell, he said, is “prepared to speak fully and honestly” but only if granted clemency by President Trump.

“Only she can provide a complete account. And some may not like what they hear, but the truth matters. For example, both President Trump and President Clinton are innocent of any wrongdoing. Ms. Maxwell alone can explain why, and the public is entitled to hear that explanation,” Markus said.

When asked during a press briefing on Tuesday if Trump would consider pardoning Maxwell, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it’s not something she has discussed with the president recently because “frankly, it is not a priority.”

“Last time we did speak about it, he said it’s not something he’s considering or thinking about,” she told reporters.

After the hearing, committee chair James Comer, R-Ky., said he was disappointed in Maxwell’s lack of testimony but that the committee’s investigation will continue.

“I personally don’t think she should be granted any type of immunity or clemency,” he said of Maxwell.

Six names uncovered 

The two lawmakers that spearheaded The Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law that forced the public release of the documents related to the investigation and death of Epstein, are still arguing that the Department of Justice isn’t abiding by the law. Among their top concerns is how the DOJ has handled redactions in the documents, including redacting names that they say should have been made public under the law and in other instances exposing the names of victims.

Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., reviewed an unredacted version of the files on Monday at the Justice Department, which is available to lawmakers for the first time. After searching the files, Khanna and Massie said they uncovered the names of six men in the files that were wrongly redacted. The lawmakers accused the DOJ of covering up the identities of the men and scrubbing the files ahead of the release.

Khanna said on the House floor that 70% to 80% of the files are still redacted and announced the redacted names. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on X that the move “forced the unmasking” of people “who have NOTHING to do with Epstein or Maxwell.” He added that four of the six appeared in just one document.

“The two other men — Les Wexner and Sultan bin Sulayem — were unredacted in the one document, and are referenced in the files nearly two hundred times and over 4,700 times respectively,” Blanche said.

On Friday, Dubai Ports World announced Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem resigned from the company effective immediately.

During a tele-townhall with Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul on Tuesday, Massie said Wexner, a billionaire businessman, should be forced to answer questions about his relationship with Epstein.

In January, House Oversight ranking member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., announced a subpoena for Wexner to testify. Wexner is set to be deposed by lawmakers in Ohio, where he lives, on Feb. 18. A spokesperson for Wexner told NPR member station WOSU that Wexner fully cooperated with federal investigators by providing background information on Epstein and was not contacted again.

Lutnick and Bondi testify and lawmaker surveillance 

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, whose name also appears in the files, answered questions about his relationship with Epstein from members of a Senate committee on Tuesday during an unrelated oversight hearing. Lutinck previously said he cut ties with Epstein before the financier was charged with any sex crimes in 2006.

But the latest batch of files contained an email correspondence between Epstein and Lutnick in 2012, where Lutnick planned a trip to Epstein’s island. Lutnick admitted to the committee that his family visited Epstein while on vacation.

“We had lunch on the island — that is true — for an hour, and we left with all of my children, with my nannies and my wife all together. We were on family vacation,” Lutnick said. He added, “I don’t recall why we did it.”

When Trump was asked by reporters on Thursday about Lutnick’s visit to the island, Trump said he “wasn’t aware” of it and that he hasn’t spoken with Lutnick about it.

“I was never there. Somebody will someday say that I was never there,” Trump added.

Despite Lutnick’s connection to Epstein, press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters earlier in the week that Lutnick “remains a very important member of President Trump’s team, and the president fully supports the secretary.”

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi also testified before Congress on Wednesday at a heated DOJ oversight hearing, during which she repeatedly dodged questions related to the Epstein files and insulted lawmakers who questioned her about them.

In one instance, Massie pressed Bondi on why some names, including Wexner’s, were redacted. Bondi defended the DOJ’s work and retorted that Massie suffered from “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and was “a failed politician.”

Lawmakers later accused Bondi of “spying” on their searches of the unredacted documents in the DOJ’s secure terminals. After the hearing concluded, a photo emerged of Bondi holding the search history of Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., with whom Bondi also verbally sparred.

“Members of Congress should be able to conduct oversight without the Department of Justice spying on us. It’s outrageous and has to stop,” Jayapal said on X.

U.K. fallout

Top leaders in the United Kingdom are also facing backlash as a result of the Epstein files.

U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer faced calls to resign this week over a relationship his appointed U.S. ambassador, Peter Mandelson, had with Epstein. The latest batch of files show Mandelson may have shared sensitive U.K. government information with Epstein.

Mandelson resigned last year after the files showed he remained in contact with Epstein after Epstein pleaded guilty to solicitation of prostitution in Florida, but Starmer faces pressure and criticism for appointing Mandelson to begin with. Starmer admitted he knew Mandelson had a relationship with Epstein prior to appointing him as U.S. ambassador but said Mandelson lied to him about the extent of their relationship.

Two members of Starmer’s cabinet, chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney and communications director Tim Allan, resigned this week as opposition parties urged Starmer to step down.

The Epstein files continue to rope in the royal family, too. U.K. police are looking into whether former Prince Andrew, who was stripped of his title, also leaked private government information to Epstein.