Epstein files: Congress seeks to depose prison guard on duty at time of Jeffrey Epstein's death

The House committee investigating disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein announced on Friday it is seeking testimony from a prison guard on duty the night the New York financier died.In a letter posted to the House Oversight Committee's X account, Chair James Comer, R-Ky., called Tova Noel, who allegedly Googled Epstein minutes before his body was found, for a deposition on March 26."Due to public reporting, documents released by the Department of Justice, and documents obtained by the Committee, the Committee believes you have information that will assist in its investigation," the letter to Noel states.Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on federal child sex trafficking charges and died by suicide weeks later in a federal jail in New York City. Noel was on duty that night and allegedly failed to do routine checks on Epstein. She and another guard were accused with falsifying records to cover up the missed checks, though criminal charges were ultimately dropped.The deposition of Noel is part of a sweeping investigation into Epstein, his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell and potential co-conspirators, as well as the circumstances of his death. Noel did not immediately respond to a request for comment placed via her attorney or to a voicemail left on her publicly listed phone number.The committee recently deposed Bill and Hillary Clinton and Les Wexner, the billionaire founder of Victoria's Secret former parent company L Brands. All have denied any involvement in Epstein's illegal activities. Last week, the committee subpoenaed Attorney General Pam Bondi.The Epstein files have roiled Washington in recent years.

President Donald Trump, a former friend of Epstein, for months fought to suppress the files, then changed his tune as a bill to mandate their release was on the brink of clearing Congress.

The House Oversight Committee has not sought testimony from Trump about Epstein.Since the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the Department of Justice has released millions of documents related to Epstein. But the department missed the December deadline laid out in the 2025 law for the total release of files and has faced criticism over the ways in which the files were redacted.A bipartisan group of senators this week called on the Government Accountability Office to investigate the DOJ's handling, in particular the process for deciding what to redact."Contrary to Congress's explicit directive to protect victims, these records included email addresses and nude photos in which the names and faces of publicly-identified and non-public victims could be identified," wrote Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska."But when it came to information identifying powerful business and political figures who are alleged coconspirators or material witnesses, DOJ appears to have heavily redacted those records," the lawmakers wrote.Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inboxGet this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.© 2026 Versant Media, LLC.

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