The House Oversight Committee on Tuesday released a roughly 120-page transcript of former Attorney General Bill Barr’s deposition that, according to the transcript, shows Barr had no firsthand knowledge of any evidence tying President Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein.
Barr told investigators he had two conversations with Trump about Epstein — one after Epstein’s suicide and another he could not place in time — and that he did not recall informing the president that his name appeared in files related to Epstein. Barr also denied that Trump expressed views or gave instructions to the Department of Justice about the Epstein matter, according to the transcript.
During questioning by Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, Barr was asked whether he had ever told Trump that he appeared in the so-called Epstein files. "I'm not sure what ‘Epstein files’ refer to these days. But, no, I didn't — I didn't have that kind of conversation with him," Barr said, adding that logs showing Trump had flown on Epstein’s plane had become public and that he did not recall discussing them with the president.
Barr also told the committee he had no direct knowledge that evidence existed to support claims that young women had encounters with Trump through Epstein. "I was never told that there was evidence to support that claim," Barr said in the transcript.
Asked whether he believed prosecutors in the Southern District of New York would have pursued evidence against high-profile figures if such evidence existed, Barr said he expected they would and expressed skepticism that evidence against Trump existed. "I think it would come out if there was any feeling that, within the government, on either side, that someone was covering up," Barr said, citing New York’s reputation for leaks in investigations. He added that he would have expected the SDNY to follow evidence to an indictment if warranted and that the same standard applied regardless of the individual's political standing.
At the same time, Barr acknowledged that he could have been unaware of the full scope of SDNY’s investigations. "I think it is possible that the SDNY did not inform me, you know, how deep they were in the investigation of particular individuals. That would not surprise me," he said.
Barr defended as routine reportedly notifying a president that his name would be included in released documents, referencing reports that former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi had told Trump his name appeared in Epstein-related materials. "I think that would normally be what the attorney general would do … to give the president a heads-up if something is going to happen like that, the release of documents that have his name in it," Barr said.
The transcript also documents Barr describing the period when authorities were unable to locate Ghislaine Maxwell as "embarrassing," and he dismissed conspiracy theories about Epstein’s death, saying he still believed Epstein committed suicide.
The release of the transcript sharpened partisan disagreement on the committee. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., who had earlier said Barr’s testimony did not clear the president of wrongdoing, reiterated that position after the transcript’s publication. Garcia had called for the release of the full unedited transcript to the public.
The Oversight Committee has been conducting a broader inquiry into the Justice Department’s handling of Epstein-related matters and has subpoenaed multiple individuals and entities as part of that probe. Committee Republicans have framed the transcript as corroboration that Barr had no knowledge of incriminating ties between Trump and Epstein, while Democrats have cautioned that the deposition does not constitute exoneration and have continued to press for additional documents and testimony.
The released transcript, obtained by news outlets and made public by the committee, adds to an extensive record of congressional scrutiny into the federal response to Epstein’s crimes and the handling of related records, but it does not introduce new evidence establishing criminal conduct by the president.