Ranking Members Warren and Garcia Lead Bipartisan Lawmakers in Introducing Bill to Hold Bankers Who Financed Epstein Accountable

Ranking Members Warren and Garcia Lead Bipartisan Lawmakers in Introducing Bill to Hold Bankers Who Financed Epstein Accountable

"Epstein Wall Street Records Act" would force federal financial regulators to release Epstein-related records, take action against culpable banks and executives.

Warren also releases responses from major banks with unsatisfactory information about Epstein connections.

Text of Bill (PDF) | Text of One-Pager (PDF) | OCC Response Letter (PDF) | FDIC Response Letter (PDF) | Fed Response Letter (PDF) | Barclays Response Letter (PDF) | Goldman Sachs Response Letter (PDF) | JPMorgan Chase Response Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee and Congressman Robert Garcia (D-Cal.), Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee, together with Congressmen Ro Khanna (D-Cal.), Thomas Massie (R-Ken.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), and Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, led a group of bipartisan lawmakers in introducing the Epstein Wall Street Records Act. The bill seeks accountability for the financial institutions and bank executives that enabled disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking operation.

Extensive reporting and congressional probes have revealed the degree to which Wall Street empowered Epstein's crimes. According to The New York Times Magazine, executives at JPMorganassisted Epstein in evading internal controls meant to intercept suspicious activity, allowing him to avoid scrutiny. A recent investigation by the Senate Finance Committee found "significant evidence that JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, and Bank of America violated federal anti-money laundering laws by failing to screen and report Epstein's suspicious financial transactions in a timely manner."

Ranking Member Warren has called upon the Trump Administration for a year to use their regulatory authority to investigate these banks and their executives. In responses linked above, President Trump's financial regulators could not even confirm they had opened investigations. Today, Ranking Member Warren is also releasing unsatisfactory responses from the big banks she has probed on their Epstein connections - including Barclays, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase. Goldman Sachs failed to even respond to Warren and Rep. Krishnamoorthi's latest letter.

The Epstein Wall Street Records Act would

1. Require federal financial regulators, including the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to disclose supervisory records related to Epstein and his associates to members of Congress and the American people.
2. Force the financial regulators to investigate Epstein-connected banks and executives for possible banking, securities, or illicit financing violations.
3. Mandate industry bars and civil penalties for executives who assisted Epstein's financial operations - as well as potential referrals of criminal violations to the Department of Justice if necessary.

The co-sponsors of the Epstein Wall Street Records Act include: Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), as well as Representatives Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Shontel Brown (D-Ohio), Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), Maxwell Frost (D-Flo.), Jasmine Crockett (D-Tex.), Emily Randall (D-Wash.), Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.), Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), Wesley Bell (D-Mo.), Lateefah Simon (D-Cal.), Dave Min (D-Cal.), James Walkinshaw (D-Va.), Christian Menefee (D-Tex.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Kweisi Mfume (D-Mary.), Greg Casar (D-Tex.) and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.).

"I have spent the last year calling on Donald Trump's financial regulators to launch investigations into the big banks and executives who may have enabled Jeffrey Epstein's horrific crimes," said Ranking Member Warren. "Since they have failed to act, Congress must. The bipartisan Epstein Wall Street Records Act will ensure overdue accountability for the wealthy and well-connected on Wall Street who put profits over people."

"Jeffrey Epstein used his immense wealth to abuse women and girls for decades. Meanwhile, banks and financial institutions enriched him and themselves by servicing his accounts and helping him move money around," said Ranking Member Garcia. "We need to know what financial institutions and their executives knew about Epstein, whether they complied with relevant law, and what regulatory agencies learned."

"The Epstein Wall Street Records Act is about transparency and releasing financial records that are critical to holding the Epstein Class accountable and fighting to get justice for the survivors. I'm proud to cosponsor this bipartisan bill," said Representative Khanna.

"The Epstein Wall Street Records Act requires the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, the Comptroller of the Currency, and the SEC to release their files on Jeffrey Epstein's money," said Representative Massie. "The Epstein Files Transparency Act forced the Attorney General to release DOJ, FBI, and U.S. Attorney's Offices' files. This bill does the same for bank regulators. Justice for the survivors means following the money."

"Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking operation left a money trail, and Wall Street has serious questions to answer. Our legislation will force federal regulators to release their records, investigate the banks and executives who may have enabled his crimes, and hold lawbreakers accountable," said Representative Krishnamoorthi. "Epstein's survivors deserve the full truth, no matter how powerful or well-connected those responsible may be."

"For far too long, financial institutions have leveraged their power, influence, and privilege to evade accountability. Their role in enabling Jeffrey Epstein's decades of sexual exploitation and abuse demands serious scrutiny. That is why World Without Exploitation is proud to support the Epstein Wall Street Records Act of 2026," said Becca Zipkin, Vice President of Policy and Programs, World Without Exploitation. "We must follow the money to uncover the truth and ensure that the financial institutions that enabled this abuse are held accountable. Survivors deserve transparency, accountability, and the justice they have long been denied."

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