TLDR
February 2026 was the most consequential month for Epstein accountability since the 2019 arrest. Congress compelled the first-ever deposition of a former president, discovered DOJ was surveilling members reviewing classified files, introduced AG impeachment articles, and watched arrests ripple across three continents (PAPER TRAIL Project, 2026a). Nothing like this had happened before.
The Depositions
The House Oversight Committee had issued subpoenas on August 5, 2025, targeting Bill and Hillary Clinton along with former AGs William Barr, James Comey, Alberto Gonzales, Eric Holder, Loretta Lynch, Jeff Sessions, and Merrick Garland. The Clintons defied the subpoenas for six months. On January 21, 2026, a bipartisan House Oversight contempt vote forced compliance. The Clintons agreed to testify on February 3 (PAPER TRAIL Project, 2026a).
Les Wexner went first. On February 18, 2026, the billionaire founder of L Brands sat for approximately five hours of questioning. His position: he was "conned" by Epstein. Rep. Garcia countered that Wexner was "the single person most responsible for providing Epstein financial support" (PAPER TRAIL Project, 2026a). The video was released the following day.
Hillary Clinton followed on February 26, testifying behind closed doors for approximately six hours. She stated she never met Epstein, never flew on his plane, and never visited his properties. The closed-door format did not prevent leaks -- Rep. Lauren Boebert photographed Clinton during the session and shared the image with a conservative influencer, violating House rules governing restricted proceedings (PAPER TRAIL Project, 2026a).
Bill Clinton's deposition came the next day, February 27. It was historic: the first time a former president had been compelled to testify under subpoena in a congressional investigation. Over six hours in New York City, Clinton acknowledged 16 or more flight log entries from 2002-2003 while maintaining "I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong" (PAPER TRAIL Project, 2026a). The remaining subpoenaed officials provided written declarations, except Robert Mueller, whose subpoena was withdrawn on health grounds.
The Surveillance Discovery
On February 11, AG Pam Bondi testified before the House Judiciary Committee. During her testimony, she was photographed holding a printout labeled "Jayapal Pramila Search History." The document revealed that DOJ had been tracking every document opened and every search query made by each congressional member at the DOJ review station -- a secure annex in Washington with four computers, available 9am to 6pm Monday through Friday, requiring 24 hours notice, members only, staff barred from the building (C-SPAN, 2026).
The revelation triggered immediate backlash. Reps. Jayapal, Raskin, and Garcia demanded DOJ cease surveillance on February 13. Speaker Johnson called the practice "not appropriate." At the rate members could review documents -- limited to four terminals, one member at a time, weekdays only -- reviewing all released files would take an estimated seven or more years (PAPER TRAIL Project, 2026b).
The surveillance cast doubt on the entire review process. Members were not just reading documents under controlled conditions. They were being watched while they read, their interest patterns recorded, their search queries catalogued. The chilling effect on oversight was immediate and obvious.
Impeachment Articles
Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) announced AG Bondi impeachment articles on February 2, citing conspiracy to cover up Epstein files. Rep. Ansari (D-AZ) echoed the call on February 26. The articles focused on DOJ's failure to comply with P.L. 119-38's disclosure mandate, the surveillance of congressional members, and the alleged removal of files containing accusations against politically connected individuals (PAPER TRAIL Project, 2026a).
The impeachment effort intersected with an NPR investigation published February 24 that revealed DOJ had withheld or removed files containing accusations against President Trump by a minor dating to approximately 1983. Three of four FBI 302 interview summaries related to the allegations were missing from the released corpus (Shapiro, 2026). Reps. Comer and Garcia -- from opposite parties -- issued a joint demand for explanation.
The Global Fallout
While Congress focused on depositions and surveillance, the international consequences of the file releases accelerated. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on February 19 and released under investigation. Lord Peter Mandelson, former UK Cabinet Minister, was arrested February 23 on suspicion of misconduct in public office -- one of the highest-profile arrests in British political history (PAPER TRAIL Project, 2026a).
Beyond the UK, the fallout spread across continents. Mona Juul, Norway's ambassador to the UN, resigned. Jack Lang, former French Culture Minister, came under investigation by the Parquet National Financier (the French financial crimes prosecution office), which raided the Arab World Institute. Borge Brende quit as president of the World Economic Forum on February 28. Richard Axel stepped down from his position at Columbia University on February 24 (PAPER TRAIL Project, 2026a).
These were not marginal figures. They were ambassadors, cabinet ministers, and heads of global institutions. The Epstein files were not producing tabloid gossip. They were producing criminal investigations, arrests, and involuntary departures from positions of power.
What February Established
February 2026 established several precedents. A former president can be compelled to testify under subpoena about his associations. Congressional oversight of DOJ is itself subject to DOJ surveillance. Impeachment of an Attorney General is a live political option when transparency laws are not enforced. And the international reach of the Epstein network means that file releases in Washington produce arrests in London and resignations in Oslo.
DOJ separately produced approximately 33,000 pages directly to the Oversight Committee -- a parallel channel to the 3.5 million pages released publicly (PAPER TRAIL Project, 2026b). The gap between what Congress can access and what the public can see became a defining tension of the month: members who knew what was in the files could not say so publicly, and members who spoke publicly about what they found had their reading habits monitored.
References
C-SPAN. (2026, February 11). AG Bondi testimony before House Judiciary Committee [Video]. C-SPAN. https://www.c-span.org
Epstein Files Transparency Act, Pub. L. No. 119-38 (2025).
PAPER TRAIL Project. (2026a). Congressional actions, February 2026 [Research document compiled from House Oversight press releases, NPR, CNN, CBS, PBS, WaPo, Axios, NBC, Al Jazeera, Courthouse News]. congressional_actions_feb2026.md
PAPER TRAIL Project. (2026b). DOJ compliance status and implementation disputes [Research document]. doj_compliance_status.md
PAPER TRAIL Project. (2026c). Stakeholder assessments: STK-4 (UK), STK-3 (France) [Research document]. STAKEHOLDERS.md
Shapiro, A. (2026, February 24). Epstein Files: Trump accusation, Maxwell. NPR. https://www.npr.org