Lawmakers call for 1996 FBI investigation into Epstein charges
Congressman Robert Garcia is calling for an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein after documents show he was reported to the FBI in 1996.
The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee has asked the Justice Department’s internal watchdog to investigate new revelations that Jeffrey Epstein was first reported to the FBI for alleged sex crimes in 1996, 10 years before the agency began its official investigation.
“For survivors like Maria Farmer, their families, and all those abused by Jeffrey Epstein in the decades following these unanswered charges, this was not just a missed opportunity to investigate, but a grave betrayal by their own government,” California Representative Robert Garcia said in a letter to the Justice Department’s acting inspector general, William Breyer, on Tuesday, December 23.
Garcia’s request came after the 1996 complaint filed by Epstein defendant Maria Farmer was made public as part of the Justice Department’s extensive release of new documents in the Epstein case. In her complaint, Farmer accused Epstein of stealing photos of her sisters, ages 12 and 16, and threatening to set her house on fire if she told anyone about it.
The FBI will not open an investigation into Epstein’s grooming and trafficking of girls for another 10 years.
“Despite these damning allegations, the FBI failed to pursue a thorough investigation at the time and failed to provide even meaningful follow-up to Mr. Farmer’s charges for a full decade,” Garcia wrote.
Although Ms. Farmer’s name is redacted in the complaint, she readily admitted that she was the accuser when it was recently released as part of a series of files related to the case.
“Complainant stated that she was a professional artist and took photographs of sisters, ages 12 and 16, for her own personal work,” the complaint states. “Epstein is believed to have stolen the photos and sold them to potential buyers.”
“At the time, Epstein requested (edited) that a photo of a young girl be taken at a pool. Epstein is now threatening to burn down the house if she tells anyone about the photo (redacted).”
Epstein stole Farmer’s sister’s nudes, she claims
Farmer worked as an art scout for Epstein, according to a lawsuit filed against the government. The lawsuit alleges that during a visit to Epstein’s Ohio mansion in 1996, Epstein and his longtime mistress, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for abusing young girls, sexually assaulted her.
Farmer’s attorney, Jennifer Freeman, said Farmer took nude or semi-nude photos of his two younger sisters in a class at the Graduate School of Art. According to Farmer’s lawsuit, when she went to Epstein’s home in Ohio, she discovered that the locked box containing the photos had been broken open and the photos were gone.
After Mr. Farmer filed his complaint, the FBI did not open an investigation into Mr. Epstein for another 10 years. That investigation was closed in 2007, and Epstein was granted a non-prosecution agreement the following year.
One of Mr Farmer’s sisters, Annie Farmer, was one of four women who testified against Mr Maxwell at his 2021 trial.
Farmer said on Dec. 19 that the release of the 1996 indictment was “a moment I’ve been waiting for for more than half my life, 30 years.”
“When I was ignored and hung by the FBI in 1996, my world changed forever and it felt like time stood still,” she said in a statement.
“Once my FBI report is finally released, I’m hopeful that I can pick up where I left off at 26.”
