Former Attorney General William Barr told the House Oversight Committee that late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein may have had informal contacts with the Central Intelligence Agency but he saw no evidence that Epstein was part of an intelligence operation.
In an August deposition whose transcript was made public Tuesday, Barr said the CIA has "a unit that goes around and talks to people who are well‑connected and asks them questions," and that, in his view, Epstein’s reported ties to intelligence could reflect ordinary contact between a businessman with foreign connections and U.S. agencies. "My supposition, when I saw things about him being connected to U.S. intelligence, maybe, like many other businessmen, he talks to them," Barr said. "But this is not, in my opinion, based on what I saw, I didn’t think it was an intelligence operation, and I never received any information that led me to believe that."
Barr, who began his career with six years at the CIA in the 1970s and later served as attorney general under two presidents, sought to tamp down conspiracy theories during his testimony. He said he had just two unremarkable conversations with President Donald Trump about Epstein during Trump’s first term and rejected suggestions that family connections were relevant, describing the link between Epstein and Barr’s father, former Dalton School headmaster Donald Barr, as "not pertinent at all."
Barr also addressed Epstein’s death in custody in 2019, saying he is convinced the financier was not murdered and noting Epstein had a prior suicide attempt while in custody. He said he was unaware of a reportedly missing minute of security camera footage near Epstein’s cell; a July memo by former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi attributed the missing footage to antiquated technology. The Justice Department has said Epstein was the only person for whom investigators had evidence of engaging in the charged criminal activity.
Epstein was indicted on federal charges alleging sex trafficking of minors in July 2019 and died one month later in what authorities have ruled a suicide. Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime Epstein associate, was convicted of related offenses and is serving a 20‑year sentence.
The possibility that Epstein had ties to intelligence agencies has long fueled public speculation. Former U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta has been quoted as saying in 2008 that he was told Epstein "belonged to intelligence" and to leave the case alone; Acosta’s handling of a prior, more lenient plea deal for Epstein drew sustained criticism and helped prompt renewed federal scrutiny. Other accounts have raised questions about links to foreign services, including reporting that associated Epstein figures had contacts with Israeli intelligence, and noted Epstein’s documented interactions with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
The controversy has intensified since a July memo from Bondi said Epstein "harmed over one thousand" girls and young women but reported no evidence to charge anyone beyond Maxwell. The memo’s language that "no further disclosure" would be appropriate prompted the House Oversight Committee to press the Justice Department for more documentation and to hold depositions aimed at clarifying whether investigators or intelligence agencies had broader connections to Epstein or his network.
Democrats on Capitol Hill have cited Epstein’s associations in probing former President Trump’s past ties to the financier. Barr, who broke with Trump after the 2020 election, told lawmakers he found no grounds to treat Epstein as a formal asset of a U.S. intelligence agency based on the materials and information he reviewed during his tenure.
A CIA spokesman did not immediately comment on Barr’s remarks. The House Oversight Committee has continued to seek records and testimony related to the department’s handling of the Epstein case and any wider ties to outside agencies. The deposition transcript and committee inquiries add to ongoing congressional scrutiny as investigators and prosecutors contend with remaining questions about how Epstein’s crimes went undetected for years and whether others beyond Maxwell should face charges.