Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) on Sunday pushed back on claims that a full release of the Epstein files would hurt his victims.
“That’s a straw man,” Massie told host Kristen Welker on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in reference to their efforts to get the material released, “Ro and I carefully crafted this legislation so that the victims’ names will be redacted and that no child pornography will be released. So they’re hiding behind that. But we’re trying to get justice for the victims.”
The Republican fiscal hawk and California progressive joined forces in July with their attempt to launch a discharge petition that would force the House to vote on giving Attorney General Pam Bondi 30 days to release a broad array of files from Epstein’s case. They told Welker that failing to do so would further damage the relationship between voters and their elected leaders.
The pair took particular issue with the Justice Department’s statements that it was focusing on the needs of victims by declining to release more of the files.
“No one has asked the victims what they want,” Khanna said. “They do want these files released for closure and for healing.”
The GOP has been embroiled in controversy since the Justice Department in early July announced that a DOJ and FBI review had uncovered no evidence of an incriminating client list or history of blackmail from the disgraced financier, who authorities say died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019.
President Donald Trump’s reported connections to Epstein, and the president’s strategy of deeming the episode a “hoax” perpetrated by “Radical Left Democrats,” have only further inflamed a core constituency of Republican voters.
“You can’t do anything constructive with government if you don’t have trust in government,” Khanna told Welker. “This is about trust in government. When John F. Kennedy was president, trust in government was 60 percent. Today it’s in the teens.”
With Republicans facing an onslaught of Epstein votes last week— and a brewing rebellion from inside the caucus — Johnson sent the House home for its August recess early.
“If the pain he’s talking about is that the legislators, when they vote, have to pick between protecting the embarrassment of the rich and powerful versus getting justice for victims, I don’t really understand what he means by that,” Massie said. “Why is it painful for Mike Johnson to call a vote on this? The American people deserve this, regardless of what the political ramifications are for the speaker.”
This isn’t the first time Massie and Khanna have teamed up on a stance against the president. In June, they introduced a House resolution to block American involvement in the since-quelled conflict between Iran and Israel. The duo then took to television to criticize Trump after he ordered strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities.
Also on Sunday, Massie told ABC’s Jonathan Karl that the pressure on House Republicans to get behind his and Khanna’s Epstein effort is only going to build during the August recess.
“It would force a full release of the files,” he said on “This Week.” “It has the force of law. It’s not a subpoena. It’s not a pretty please would you release the files. It’s the force of law.”
And Trump’s hoax talk isn’t helping, he said.
“It’s emblematic of the promise that President Trump brought with him to the White House, how he energized so many people who had checked out of the political system,” Massie told Karl. “He was going to be the guy who holds all the rich and powerful and politically connected people accountable, and that’s why there’s so much disappointment right now.”
