H.R. 7857 — No Escaping Justice Act of 2026

This section defines terms for purposes of the Act, including (1) appropriate congressional committees as the Committees on Appropriations, Foreign Affairs (House), Foreign Relations (Senate), and the Judiciary in both chambers; (2) Epstein-related records as records held by the Department of State or Department of Justice (including FBI and U.S. Attorneys' Offices) relating to specified matters in sec. 2(a) of the Epstein Files Transparency Act (P.L. 119-38); (3) foreign person as any person that is not a United States person; (4) knowingly as having actual knowledge or should have known of the conduct, circumstance, or result; (5) severe forms of trafficking in persons as defined in 22 U.S.C. 7102(9) under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (i.e., sex trafficking and recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of persons for labor or services through force, fraud, or coercion); and (6) United States person as a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, or entity organized under U.S. laws.

This section directs the President, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Attorney General, to submit to the appropriate congressional committees—not later than 90 days after enactment and annually thereafter for five years—a report identifying each foreign person determined, based on credible information, to have knowingly engaged in specified conduct in connection with the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking enterprise or efforts to conceal, facilitate, finance, or profit from such enterprise. Sanctionable conduct includes (1) engaging in severe forms of trafficking in persons, including sex trafficking involving a person under 18 years of age; (2) aiding, abetting, commanding, inducing, financing, organizing, or otherwise facilitating severe forms of trafficking in persons or the sexual exploitation of minors; (3) knowingly benefiting financially or receiving anything of value from participation in or facilitation of such trafficking or exploitation; and (4) obstructing, intimidating, retaliating against, threatening, or corruptly influencing a victim, witness, or law enforcement officer in connection with related investigations, prosecutions, or civil actions. Credible information may include data from U.S. government agencies, judicial proceedings, foreign governments or international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, or Epstein-related records (though a name's mere appearance in such records is insufficient). The report must be submitted in unclassified form, with a possible classified annex, and prepared to protect victims' privacy and safety.

This section directs the President to impose asset-blocking sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and visa restrictions—including inadmissibility, visa ineligibility, and revocation of existing visas—on each foreign person identified in the report required under section 3(a) (except as provided in section 5). It applies the civil and criminal penalties of IEEPA section 206(b) and (c) (50 U.S.C. 1705(b) and (c)) to violations of these sanctions, including civil penalties not to exceed the greater of $250,000 or twice the amount of the transaction and criminal penalties of a fine up to $1,000,000 or imprisonment up to 20 years for natural persons.

This section establishes (1) a presidential waiver authority for sanctions under section 4 on a foreign person if determined to be in the U.S. national interest or necessary for authorized U.S. intelligence, law enforcement, or national security activities, with notification to specified congressional committees at least 15 days prior; (2) an exception from sanctions under section 4(c) to the extent necessary to comply with the U.N. Headquarters Agreement or other applicable U.S. international obligations; and (3) presidential termination authority for such sanctions upon determining and reporting to congressional committees that the sanctioned person did not engage in the sanctioned conduct, has been prosecuted and sentenced appropriately (including serving the sentence), or has demonstrated a significant change in behavior with substantial cooperation to U.S. authorities and verifiable remediation of victim harm, along with a petition process for sanctioned persons.

This section requires the President, acting through applicable federal agency heads, to provide—upon request and which may be classified—a briefing to appropriate congressional committees on the status of this Act's implementation.