Reps. Thomas Massie, Ro Khanna want to fine AG Pam Bondi until she releases all Epstein files

Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna, the bipartisan duo who spearheaded passage of a law requiring the Department of Justice to release all of its case files on the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, said they are drafting an “inherent contempt” measure that would fine Attorney General Pam Bondi until she complies.

The Justice Department was supposed to release all of the Epstein files on Friday, but the hundreds of thousands of pages of documents it posted on its website were heavily redacted and key documents were not included.

“They’re flouting the spirit and the letter of the law. It’s very troubling the posture that they’ve taken,” Mr. Massie, Kentucky Republican, said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

Mr. Khanna, California Democrat, joined Mr. Massie in the CBS talk show and said Epstein survivors viewed the limited release as a “slap in the face” because it did not include documents implicating “the rich and powerful men who visited Epstein’s rape island and covered up the abuse.”

The lawmakers said they are planning to deploy the rarely used inherent contempt power, which allows Congress to fine or jail people who ignore its laws or subpoenas, to hold Ms. Bondi accountable until she fully complies with their law.

Mr. Massie said inherent contempt is the “most expeditious way to get justice for these victims” because it doesn’t require going through the courts.

“We only need the House for inherent contempt, and we’re building a bipartisan coalition,” Mr. Khanna said. “It would fine Pam Bondi for every day that she’s not releasing these documents.”

Mr. Massie said he won’t be satisfied that all the files have been released until the Epstein survivors say they are. He said their lawyers have told him there are at least 20 men whom the victims reported to the FBI for being involved in Epstein’s sex crimes.

“They’ve described their professions in general, but they’ve only given me one of those names, and I mentioned that in a congressional hearing, Jes Staley,” Mr. Massie said of the former top executive at JPMorgan, where Epstein was a client. “So I searched these documents, I didn’t see Jes Staley’s name, nor did I see 19 other names.”

Mr. Massie said he is not optimistic the Justice Department will release all of the Epstein files because of a six-page memo Ms. Bondi and Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche sent to Congress citing preexisting laws as reasons for redacting information that the law requires to be released.

“For instance, our law requires them to release information regardless of embarrassment, but they are trying to say that a previous law prevails when it doesn’t,” he said. “Common sense says it doesn’t. The Privacy Act doesn’t protect them from that.”

Mr. Massie said the Justice Department is also trying to use a Freedom of Information Act standard to withhold internal communications that the law requires to be released.

“All three judges who released the grand jury materials said that our law trumps the prior law. That’s just common sense, law school 101,” he said. “Yet Todd Blanche is using a different theory that wouldn’t survive first contact with any court, which is he’s trying to say that prior laws override our law.”

Mr. Khanna said that lawmakers are not as frustrated with the delays in releasing all the documents as they are about the “selective concealment.”

“The redactions were excessive,” he said. “And even Harvard Law professors who have looked at that have said you can’t redact internal communications, you can’t redact workforce product, and the courts are going to find that these were excessive.”

Mr. Khanna said there are also documents they know exist that haven’t been released, like the 60-count indictment that was drafted to charge Epstein but only two of which were ultimately prosecuted.

“I want to know who were these other people who were on Epstein’s rape Island, who were the people who saw young girls being paraded around at parties, 13, 14, 15 year olds and didn’t say anything,” he said. “Instead of holding elites accountable, Pam Bondi is breaking the law.”