Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) ripped the Division of Justice’s release of several millions of pages of files associated to the investigation into late convicted intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein on Friday as “not ok.”
The DOJ launched the paperwork after Congress handed a regulation final yr that legally required the Trump administration to launch all of the information. Many powerful figures are referenced within the information, together with President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Invoice Clinton.
Being talked about within the information is just not essentially an indication of wrongdoing or affiliation with Epstein’s crimes.
Showing Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Khanna, one of many main authors of the Epstein Recordsdata Transparency Act, expressed his disapproval with the newest doc launch after moderator Kristen Welker introduced up that he and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) “threatened contempt fees and even impeachment for Lawyer Basic Pam Bondi” after the DOJ failed to release all eligible Epstein files by the Dec. 19, 2025, deadline.
The discharge on Friday sparked backlash from Democrats and survivors, who accused the DOJ of not releasing hundreds of thousands of Epstein information regardless of authorized necessities.
In the meantime, Deputy Lawyer Basic Todd Blanche argued that Friday’s launch means the DOJ is now in compliance with the Epstein Recordsdata Transparency Act.
After Welker requested Khanna if he’s “ready to maneuver ahead with contempt and impeachment fees towards [Bondi],” he responded that although he and Massie drew consideration to this final December, they nonetheless have “not moved on it” as a result of they’re “attempting to present the Justice Division some advantage of the doubt.”
“They did do a launch that was important. I imply, that is essentially the most paperwork that we’ve seen launched thus far in historical past. However it isn’t ok,” he continued.
Noting he and Massie “have requested a gathering with the deputy lawyer common,” Khanna added that Blanche stated he’s “open to assembly with members of Congress” and “open to explaining why the redactions had been performed.”
“So I hope that we’ll have a gathering,” he continued. “If we don’t get the remaining information, if we don’t get the remaining 302 types, the remaining prosecution memo from 2019, and if the survivors should not completely satisfied, then Thomas Massie and I are ready to maneuver on impeachment or contempt.”
Moments earlier than within the interview, Khanna advised Welker that the DOJ hasn’t totally complied with the regulation on the Epstein information.
“They’ve launched at greatest half the paperwork. However even these shock the conscience of this nation. I imply, you’ve got a few of the most rich people, tech leaders, finance leaders, politicians, all implicated ultimately, having emailed about desirous to go to Epstein’s island realizing that Epstein was a pedophile,” the California consultant defined.
Calling it “frankly one of many largest scandals for my part in our nation’s historical past,” he declared that “there’s a demand for elite accountability.”
“However the survivors’ legal professionals that I’ve talked to have stated that the survivors are nonetheless upset,” Khanna continued. “They’re upset that lots of their names by accident got here out with out redactions. And so they need to ensure the remainder of the information come out.”
Watch Khanna’s look on “Meet the Press” under.
