A key House committee is looking into the investigation of the late Jeffrey Epstein for sex trafficking crimes.

Questions persist about how Jeffrey Epstein, who once moved among the world's elite, was able to avoid federal prosecution for so long. A timeline suggests some answers.

Much information has been made public, but the Justice Department is cautious about releasing further material that could damage reputations, and faces an uphill legal battle to reveal currently sealed court filings.

During Mr. Trump's first term, his labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, resigned following criticism of his handling of Epstein's 2008 plea deal when he was a federal prosecutor in Florida. Epstein served 13 months in a jail work-release program after he was originally accused of sexually abusing dozens of girls and young women.

Interest in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation has exploded over the past month even as President Donald Trump urged the public and media to move on from a saga he sees as “pretty boring.

There was a single goal in mind: find something — anything — that could be released to the public to satisfy President Trump’s supporters.

“He told me he has like 15 or 16 hours of videotape of Jeff,” said Epstein’s brother Mark in an interview with NBC earlier this month, adding he had met with Bannon after Epstein’s death and asked to see the tapes. “He was trying to help Jeff rehabilitate his reputation.”