--- alias: - Rep. Robert Garcia - Representative Robert Garcia - Ranking Member Robert Garcia born: 1977-12-02 category: Political Figure created: 2026-09-25 location: Long Beach, California relations: - fn: 2 role: ranking member type: member_of with: '[[House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform]]' - fn: 3 role: mayor type: head_of with: '[[Long Beach, California]]' - fn: 7 start: 2026-01-23 type: investigated with: '[[Federal Prison Camp Bryan]]' summary: California Democratic congressman, formerly mayor of Long Beach, who as ranking member of the House Oversight Committee released Jeffrey Epstein's emails about Donald Trump and pressed for the Justice Department's files. tags: - Person - RobertGarcia - Congress - HouseOversightCommittee - JeffreyEpstein - EpsteinFiles - LongBeach updated: 2026-09-25 --- Robert Garcia (born December 2, 1977) is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from the 42nd district of [California](/places/california/), in office since January 3, 2023, and the ranking member of the [House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform](/organizations/house-committee-on-oversight-and-government-reform/). He was previously mayor of Long Beach. As ranking member he released correspondence from the estate of [Jeffrey Epstein](/people/jeffrey-epstein/) concerning [Donald Trump](/people/donald-trump/), joined the ranking member of the [House Committee on the Judiciary](/organizations/house-committee-on-the-judiciary/), [Jamie Raskin](/people/jamie-raskin/), in inquiring into [Ghislaine Maxwell](/people/ghislaine-maxwell/)'s treatment at [Federal Prison Camp Bryan](/places/federal-prison-camp-bryan/), and supported the 2026 subpoena of Attorney General [Pam Bondi](/people/pam-bondi/).[^1][^2][^3] ### The Estate Productions The committee's chairman, [James Comer](/people/james-comer/), copied Garcia as ranking member on his August 25, 2025 subpoena to Epstein's estate. On November 12, 2025 the committee's Democratic staff released three emails from the estate's latest production. In a 2011 email to Maxwell, Epstein wrote: "that dog that hasn't barked is trump.. [Victim] spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned. Police chief. etc. im 75 % there." In a 2019 email to the writer Michael Wolff he wrote, "Of course he knew about the girls as he asked ghislaine to stop." A 2015 exchange between Epstein and Wolff concerned how to "craft an answer" for a Trump interview on CNN. Garcia said: "The more Donald Trump tries to cover up the [Epstein files](/concepts/epstein-files/), the more we uncover. These latest emails and correspondence raise glaring questions about what else the [White House](/places/white-house/) is hiding and the nature of the relationship between Epstein and the President. The [Department of Justice](/organizations/department-of-justice/) must fully release the Epstein files to the public immediately."[^4][^5] Comer, releasing the estate's first production on September 8, 2025, had said that "President Trump is not accused of any wrongdoing."[^6] ### FPC Bryan On January 23, 2026 Garcia and Raskin wrote to Bondi and to Acting Inspector General Don R. Berthiaume of the [Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General](/organizations/department-of-justice-office-of-the-inspector-general/), citing "over a dozen whistleblowers" who reported that "Ms. Maxwell has been permitted to use a laptop, unsupervised, while at Bryan," that she had "access to staff-only areas to watch CNN by herself," that "the Warden sends out Ms. Maxwell's mail under the Warden's own name," and that the warden "fired those who made protected disclosures to Congress." They asked that the department make "Warden Tanisha Hall available for a transcribed interview" and that the inspector general "initiate an investigation into the reported staff misconduct."[^7] ### The Bondi Subpoena On March 4, 2026 the committee voted 24 to 19, on a motion by the Republican [Nancy Mace](/people/nancy-mace/) supported by all Democrats present and four other Republicans, to subpoena Bondi. Garcia said: "For months, Attorney General Bondi has been instrumental in orchestrating the White House's cover-up of the Epstein files," and, "The American people deserve transparency, survivors deserve justice, and we are demanding answers."[^8] [^1]: unitedstates/congress-legislators project, legislators-current.json (birth date and terms, compiled from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress), accessed September 25, 2026. https://unitedstates.github.io/congress-legislators/legislators-current.json [^2]: unitedstates/congress-legislators project, committee-membership-current.json, 119th Congress, accessed September 25, 2026. https://unitedstates.github.io/congress-legislators/committee-membership-current.json [^3]: U.S. Department of Justice, Epstein Library, EFTA00032518, DataSet 8, press digest, 2020, reporting "Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia." https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%208/EFTA00032518.pdf [^4]: James Comer, Chairman, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, subpoena cover letter to the Estate of Jeffrey Epstein, August 25, 2025. https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/2025.08.25-Subpoena-Cover-Letter-to-Epstein-Estate.pdf [^5]: House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Democratic staff, "House Oversight Committee Releases Jeffrey Epstein Email Correspondence, Raising Questions About White House Coverup of Epstein Files," press release, November 12, 2025. https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/news/press-releases/house-oversight-committee-releases-jeffrey-epstein-email-correspondence-raising [^6]: House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, "Oversight Committee Releases Records Provided by the Epstein Estate, Chairman Comer Provides Statement," press release, September 8, 2025. https://oversight.house.gov/release/oversight-committee-releases-records-provided-by-the-epstein-estate-chairman-comer-provides-statement/ [^7]: House Judiciary Committee Democrats, "Ranking Members Raskin, Garcia Demand Answers for Rampant Sexual Abuse and Misconduct Uncovered at FPC Bryan; Announce Congressional Oversight Visit," press release, January 23, 2026. https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/ranking-members-raskin-garcia-demand-answers-for-rampant-sexual-abuse-and-misconduct-uncovered-at-fpc-bryan-announce-congressional-oversight-visit [^8]: House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Democratic staff, "Ranking Member Robert Garcia Statement on Securing Subpoena for Attorney General Pam Bondi to Testify Before Oversight in Epstein Files Cover-Up," press release, March 4, 2026. https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/news/press-releases/ranking-member-robert-garcia-statement-on-securing-subpoena-for-attorney-general-pam-bondi-to-testify-before-oversight-in-epstein-files-cover-up