House Judiciary Committee Votes to Subpoena Kash Patel’s Records After 37 Pages Missing From Epstein Document Production
Washington, D.C. — In a dramatic escalation of the congressional investigation tied to the Jeffrey Epstein case, the House Judiciary Committee voted 24–19 to issue a subpoena demanding records from FBI Director Kash Patel after lawmakers discovered that 37 pages were missing from an FBI document production submitted to Congress.
The vote took place during a public committee session with cameras rolling, marking the first legally binding step taken by lawmakers to determine why the pages—numbered 211 through 247—were absent from a document the FBI had previously certified as complete.
According to committee officials, the discovery occurred during a routine review conducted by investigative staff examining an 847-page document production the FBI submitted earlier this year in response to a congressional oversight request. The documents were intended to provide information related to the government’s handling of investigative material connected to Epstein and his network.
But during the review, staff noticed something unusual.
Instead of redacted text, classification notices, or privilege logs typically used to indicate withheld material, the document numbering abruptly jumped from page 210 to page 248. The 37 pages in between were simply not present.
Within hours of the discovery, committee staff alerted Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, who then notified other committee members and scheduled an emergency session to address the issue.
Opening the hearing, Jordan described the omission as a serious oversight concern.
“The FBI submitted a certified complete document production to this committee,” Jordan said during his opening remarks. “That production is missing 37 pages. There is no classification notice, no privilege log, and no explanation for why those pages are absent. This committee has a legal obligation to determine what happened.”
The committee’s vote to issue the subpoena was notable not only for its outcome but also for the bipartisan support it received. Five Republican members joined Democrats in approving the measure, signaling that concerns about the missing pages extended beyond partisan lines.
Under the subpoena approved by the committee, Patel must provide several categories of records within 14 days.
First, the FBI is required to produce the missing 37 pages in their original form. Second, the subpoena compels Patel to provide communication records, including personal cellphone logs, official FBI office phone records, and encrypted messaging application activity covering the period between January 20 and March 15, 2025—the timeframe between Patel’s confirmation as FBI director and the date the document production was submitted to Congress.
The third requirement focuses on transparency within the document submission process itself. The FBI must provide a complete chain-of-custody log, identifying every individual who accessed or modified the document production before it was certified as complete and sent to Congress.
Lawmakers say the chain-of-custody information could clarify whether the missing pages resulted from an administrative mistake or something more deliberate.
During the hearing, Representative Jamie Raskin highlighted why the gap raised particular concern among investigators. According to Raskin, the missing section falls within a portion of the document described in the table of contents as containing communications records and cross-references linked to Epstein’s network.
Pages that appear immediately after the gap contain references to individuals identified only by initials and case file numbers. Some of those initials, Raskin noted, correspond to individuals whose names appear elsewhere in the production.
“The missing pages are not random,” Raskin said during the hearing. “They sit directly in the middle of the section containing cross-referenced communications records.”
Representative Adam Schiff also addressed the issue following the vote, emphasizing the seriousness of certifying a document as complete when portions are missing.
“The FBI certified this production as complete,” Schiff said. “Thirty-seven pages are missing. Someone signed their name to a certification stating that those pages were included. The committee now intends to determine why they were not.”
The White House responded shortly after the vote with a brief statement expressing confidence in Patel’s leadership and criticizing the subpoena as politically motivated. The statement did not directly address the missing pages.
Legal experts say Patel and the FBI now face several options. They could comply with the subpoena and provide the requested materials, challenge the subpoena in federal court, or attempt to invoke executive privilege over certain communications. However, experts note that chain-of-custody records for document submissions are generally difficult to withhold under privilege claims.
The discovery of the missing pages has also sparked interest in the Senate. Staff members working on related oversight efforts in the Senate Intelligence Committee reportedly identified a similar numbering gap in a separate document production submitted to that chamber.
If confirmed, that finding could expand the scope of congressional scrutiny over how investigative records connected to Epstein were compiled and delivered to lawmakers.
For now, the Judiciary Committee has set a clear timeline: the subpoena’s 14-day compliance clock began immediately after the vote.
Whether Patel chooses to comply, challenge the order, or assert legal protections, the next phase of the investigation will likely unfold quickly.
What began as a routine oversight review has now turned into a high-stakes inquiry into the integrity of federal document submissions—one that could determine why 37 pages disappeared from a production Congress was told was complete.
