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-Editorial
Reps. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, and Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, said that the Justice Department has not complied with a new law requiring the release of records related to Jeffrey Epstein, criticizing what they described as incomplete disclosures and excessive redactions during an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
The interview aired Dec. 21, two days after the department released more than 13,000 files it acknowledged were not a complete production and said additional material would follow.
Massie, one of the bill’s sponsors, said the department was “flouting the spirit and the letter of the law,” arguing that key information sought by survivors and lawmakers remains undisclosed. He said he would not consider the law satisfied until survivors were satisfied.
Khanna said the most significant disclosure so far confirmed that the FBI received a complaint about Epstein in 1996 from Maria Farmer, who has said federal officials failed to follow up. Khanna said the acknowledgment vindicated Farmer’s account but said broader questions remain unanswered.
“This was a slap in the face of survivors,” Khanna said, contending that major documents required by the law, including a 60-count indictment and a prosecution memo, were not released. He said the issue was not the timeline but what he described as “selective concealment.”
Brennan noted that the deputy attorney general said more disclosures are forthcoming and that some redactions were intended to protect victims’ privacy, including after a New York judge directed the department to consult victims. Both lawmakers said the redactions went beyond what the law permits.
Khanna said legal experts have criticized the scope of the redactions, arguing that internal communications and work product should not have been withheld under the statute. He said lawmakers are pressing publicly to prompt the release of missing materials.
Massie said survivors’ attorneys told him that the FBI has identified at least 20 men accused of sex crimes connected to Epstein, though he said he has been given only one name. He said he searched the released files and did not find references to that individual or others he expected to see.
Brennan cautioned that inclusion in documents does not establish criminal conduct. Massie responded that courts overseeing related releases had ruled the new law supersedes prior statutes cited by the department to justify withholding information.
Asked what steps Congress could take, Massie said he and Khanna were drafting a proposal to pursue inherent contempt proceedings against Attorney General Pam Bondi to compel compliance, a move that would not require court action. Khanna said such action would require only House approval and could impose daily fines until documents are released.
Brennan noted that some Democrats, including Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, have said impeachment or contempt would be premature. Khanna said a bipartisan coalition is forming in the House and argued that Congress should determine whether the redactions are justified.
The discussion also addressed images briefly posted and then removed from the Justice Department’s website, including photos showing former President Bill Clinton and a separate image depicting an open drawer with a photograph of President Donald Trump. Neither Clinton nor Trump has been accused of wrongdoing related to Epstein. Khanna said he was less focused on the images than on documents he said remain unreleased, including materials alleging financial crimes and potential foreign involvement.
Brennan referenced comments attributed to White House chief of staff Susan Wiles describing the initial release as “binders full of nothingness” and denying the existence of a client list. Khanna said the lawmakers’ focus is on survivors and accountability, not politics.
Both Massie and Khanna said they plan to continue pressing the Justice Department when Congress reconvenes in January, arguing that the law requires fuller disclosure and that Congress must ensure compliance.