Former Attorney General William Barr appeared for a closed-door deposition on Monday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the first witness in the panel’s bipartisan review of the federal government’s handling of Jeffrey Epstein. Barr, who led the Justice Department when Epstein died in 2019, was questioned for several hours under subpoena. Committee Chair James Comer told reporters that Barr said he never saw evidence linking former President Donald Trump to Epstein’s crimes and was unaware of any ‘client list.’ Barr also reaffirmed his earlier conclusion that Epstein died by suicide, though he acknowledged camera blind spots at the New York jail where the financier was found dead. Comer separately disclosed that the Justice Department will begin turning over Epstein-related records to Congress on Friday. The production will come two days after the committee’s 19 August deadline for all unredacted documents, but Comer described the talks with the department as cooperative, citing the large volume of material and the need to redact information that could identify victims. Lawmakers have also summoned nine other former attorneys general and senior officials—including Merrick Garland, Jeff Sessions, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, James Comey and former President Bill Clinton—for depositions through mid-October as they press for a comprehensive accounting of any failures that preceded Epstein’s death and earlier plea deal.