Bill would force bank regulators to disclose Epstein records

Bloomberg

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• Key insight: The Epstein Wall Street Records Act would compel regulatory agencies to publicly release all supervisory records on Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.
• What's at stake: The legislation targets banks and executives who enabled Epstein, forcing regulators to conduct investigations into potential banking, securities and illicit financing violations.

Democratic lawmakers have introduced a bill that would force federal regulators to investigate banks in connection with Jeffrey Epstein's global sex-trafficking operation, and to publicly disclose related supervisory records.

The Epstein Wall Street Records Act — led by Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif. — would require financial regulators to identify and penalize financial institutions and bank executives who profited from or ignored red flags while managing Epstein's money. It also mandates that the regulators publicly release all supervisory records and documents related to Epstein's finances and banking activities.

"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," Warren said in a press release. "Since they have failed to act, Congress must."

The legislation would require the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Securities and Exchange Commission to publicly disclose supervisory records related to Epstein and his associates. 

And it would mandate that those regulators investigate banks and bankers connected to Epstein for possible banking, securities or illicit financing violations. The bill also would mandate that the regulators fine — and bar from the industry — bank executives who assisted Epstein's financial operations. The executives would potentially be referred for criminal violations to the Department of Justice.

The bill has seven sponsors, including one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and 18 co-sponsors.

Massie was a key figure last year in the fight to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the Department of Justice to release documents related to Epstein.

That legislation wasn't initially scheduled for a floor vote in the GOP-controlled House, but Massie was one of four House Republicans who joined Democrats by signing onto a discharge petition, a little-used procedural tactic that can overcome opposition to a vote by the majority party's leaders. 

Ultimately, the 2025 legislation passed the House by a 427-1 vote, and the Senate approved it by unanimous consent. President Trump signed it into law in November.

The Epstein Wall Street Records Act could have an easier path to House passage if Democrats regain control of the chamber, as polls now indicate is likely, in the November elections.

If Democrats win both chambers of Congress and pass the bill, President Trump would have to decide whether to veto it. Such a move could spark a political backlash and lead Congress to override his veto.

"Justice for the survivors means following the money," Massie said in a press release. "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." 

Warren released the text of the bill, an explainer and responses from the OCC, the FDIC, and the Fed to her request for investigations into Epstein. Each regulator replied that they cannot disclose nonpublic supervisory information about financial institutions. 

"I cannot confirm the existence of or otherwise comment on specific investigations," Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman wrote in a June 12, 2026, letter to Warren.

Top banks in the crosshairs of the Epstein scandal include JPMorganChase, Deutsche Bank and Bank of America, each of which were cited in an August report by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee. On Thursday, Warren publicly released letters from Barclays, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan, responding to her questions this summer about Epstein and specific bankers.  

Kathleen Mellody, head of federal government relations at JPMorgan, said in the company's letter to Warren that the New York bank ended its relationship with Epstein in 2013. CEO Jamie Dimon "never met Jeffrey Epstein, never emailed him, and was not involved in any decision to have him as a client," she wrote. 

"JPMC shares the view that Jeffrey Epstein's acts were reprehensible," Mellody wrote. "The firm did not facilitate or knowingly enable illegal activity." 

Wyden's report on Epstein listed 13 senior bankers at JPMorgan, BofA and Deutsche who allegedly protected Epstein in order to gain access to Leon Black, the former CEO of private equity giant Apollo Global Management, who made $170 million in payments to Epstein. The report details how the three banks retroactively flagged thousands of questionable financial transactions after the notorious sex offender's death in 2019. Epstein died in prison after his arrest on sex-trafficking charges.

Garcia, ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, summed up the Democrat's intentions going forward. 

"We need to know what financial institutions and their executives knew about Epstein, whether they complied with relevant law, and what regulatory agencies learned," Garcia said in the press release. 

JPMorgan, Deutsche and BofA all declined to comment.