Former FBI Director James Comey will not testify as part of the Republican investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. 

Comey was scheduled to be deposed Tuesday by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee as part of the panel’s ongoing probe into Epstein, the deceased child sex offender. Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) had subpoenaed Comey in August for that testimony.

But in a letter to Comer dated Oct. 1, Comey said he simply has no “knowledge” or “information relevant to the Committee’s investigation.” 

“I offer this letter in lieu of a deposition that would unproductively consume the Committee’s scarce time and resources,” Comey wrote. 

Comey had served as deputy attorney general from 2003 to 2005 and then as FBI director for almost four years beginning in September 2013. Both periods are being scrutinized by the Oversight panel, which is seeking information on Epstein from 1990 until his death in prison in 2019.

“At no time during my service at the Department of Justice or the FBI do I recall any information or conversations that related to Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell,” Comey wrote. Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend and long-time associate, is serving 20 years in prison for crimes related to the sex trafficking of minors. 

The letter is subject to a provision of federal law that makes it a crime punishable by prison time to give false statements to agents of the government. With that in mind, Comer accepted Comey’s statement and withdrew the subpoena demanding his testimony.

Comey’s message was similar to those delivered by former Attorneys General Eric Holder and Merrick Garland, who were also subpoenaed to appear before the Oversight panel. Comer withdrew those subpoenas as well in recent days. 

Two other high-profile figures former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have also been subpoenaed to appear privately before the Oversight Committee this month. It’s unclear if those depositions will proceed as scheduled. A spokesperson for Comer declined to comment. 

The maneuvers come amid an escalation between competing strategic approaches to the Epstein investigation. 

Top Republican leaders, including President Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson (La.), want to continue the Oversight probe, arguing that it represents the most effective way to get information in a timely manner. As part of that effort, Comer has already released thousands of documents obtained under subpoena from the Justice Department and Epstein’s estate. 

Critics of that approach argue that Trump’s Justice Department is cherry-picking the documents it delivers to Comer to protect wealthy Republican donors and Trump associates. Those lawmakers are pushing legislation to require the administration to publicize all the government’s files on Epstein and Maxwell an effort that’s been endorsed by a number of Epstein’s victims.

Johnson has refused to bring that legislation to the floor. But the lead sponsors of the bill are on the cusp of forcing that vote through a discharge petition. That procedural gambit has 217 signatures one shy of the 218 it needs to force the vote and Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) has said she’ll sign the petition as soon as she’s sworn into her seat. 

Amid the government shutdown, however, Johnson has canceled all House votes since Grijalva was elected, and he’s refused to swear her in during the chamber’s pro forma sessions. That’s led to accusations that the Speaker is stalling to protect Trump by delaying the success of the discharge petition.