South Carolina Republican congresswoman Nancy Mace has written to the CIA demanding the release of “any and all” documents it may hold relating to Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. In a letter to CIA Director John Ratcliffe, posted on X on Tuesday, she called on the agency to allow Congress to view records, documents, photos, videos, passports and other materials in its possession concerning the disgraced financier and his former partner.
Ms Mace, a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, cited a Freedom of Information Act request made by Epstein’s lawyer, Martin Weinberg, in 2011, asking for records showing any alleged CIA affiliation. The agency replied in July of that year that it had been “unable to locate any information or records” and could neither confirm nor deny a relationship, citing exemptions for classified material.
She also pointed to other newly released Department of Justice files, including a 2015 email in which Epstein referred to a document that “looks like a cia drop,” and highlighted his past connections to influential figures, including former CIA director William Burns. Ms Mace argued that the CIA’s National Resources Division, which debriefs business people and investors with overseas links, would likely have had extensive contact with Epstein over several decades.
“All of this suggests not only does the CIA have information on Epstein, it should have a large amount of information, over several decades, and covering many issues,” she wrote. The congresswoman said it was “essential to Congress’s oversight responsibilities and in the public interest” to understand what relationship, if any, the agency had with Epstein.
Ms Mace’s intervention comes amid enduring speculation over whether Epstein acted as a covert intelligence operative. She broke with President Donald Trump in 2025 by backing the release of the Epstein files, a move that damaged her relations with the White House. She is currently running for governor of South Carolina, without the president’s endorsement.
