GOP lawmaker offers strong clues to who's on Epstein's client list: 'We know these people'

A Republican lawmaker revealed the existence of a list of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's clients complied from witness statements and other evidence in possession of the FBI.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) informed the House Judiciary Committee that he believes the FBI knows the identities of at least 20 individuals linked to the disgraced financier's sex trafficking network, which contradicts testimony this week from FBI Director Kash Patel stating there is no "client list" or evidence that Epstein trafficked underage girls to others, reported the Miami Herald.

"The lawmaker claimed those files include 'one Hollywood producer worth a few 100 million dollars, one royal prince, one high-profile individual in the music industry, one very prominent banker, one high profile government official, one high profile former politician, one owner of a car company in Italy, one rock star, one magician, at least six billionaires, including a billionaire from Canada," the newspaper reported. "'We know these people exist in the FBI files, the files that you control.'"

One of the correspondents listed in the byline is Julie K. Brown, who wrote the definitive book on Epstein and his network, Perversion of Justice, and her investigative work led to the additional charges he was facing when he died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial.

Patel on Tuesday blamed former Miami federal prosecutor Alexander Acosta for the decision to grant federal immunity to Epstein in 2008 that has largely prevented federal investigators from holding other individuals accountable for their roles in his criminal network.

The Herald noted that Patel once called for the release of investigative files on Epstein during his time as a MAGA podcaster, but as FBI director he and Attorney General Pam Bondi announced in July that no further evidence about the case would be released, and Republican lawmakers and President Donald Trump – a longtime Epstein associate – have blocked efforts to publicize those records.

Acosta will testify Friday before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee in closed-door testimony for the first time since he resigned as U.S. labor secretary during Trump's first presidency after Brown's reporting renewed scrutiny of his role in the case.

"Acosta was just 37 and a rising star in the Republican Party who had noble ambitions of becoming a U.S. Supreme Court justice when he was named U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida in 2005," the Herald reported. "Now 56, Acosta has almost vanished from public life, other than appearing from time to time to discuss economic issues on the conservative TV network Newsmax, where he is also on the network’s board of directors and chair of its audit committee."