By Jasper Ward
WASHINGTON, April 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Representative James Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said on Friday he agreed with first lady Melania Trump's call for congressional hearings with alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein, saying "we will have hearings."
Melania Trump, the wife of U.S. President Donald Trump, said on Thursday the public hearings were needed for Epstein's accusers to tell their stories under oath, raising the prospect of further public attention on an issue the president wants to go away.
"I agree with the first lady and appreciate what she said. We will have hearings," Comer told Fox News' America Reports program.
Comer said the House Oversight Committee's attorneys have been in regular contact with Epstein's alleged victims. He said some are willing to come in, while others are not.
"We have always planned on having a hearing with Epstein victims once the depositions have been completed, so we've still got some more high-profile men that are coming in," Comer said.
Epstein has been the center of political discussion in recent months after the U.S. Justice Department released millions of files related to the late financier, who was facing federal charges of sex-trafficking minors when he died in jail in what was ruled a suicide.
More than 1,200 alleged victims of Epstein were identified in documents that have been steadily released by the U.S. Justice Department since late 2025.
In her rare Thursday remarks, which thrust the Epstein matter back into the spotlight after her husband had sought to put it behind him, the first lady denied that she had any connection with Epstein and said she was not one of his victims.
President Trump told The New York Times on Friday that he knew his wife wanted to talk about the late sex offender at some point and "thought she had a right to talk about it," even if he had not known what exactly she planned to say.
"I said, 'If you want to do that, you can do that," he told the newspaper, adding that he did not recommend she speak out.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; editing by Michelle Nichols, Rod Nickel)
