One half of the bipartisan pair pushing the Justice Department to follow the law and release nearly all of its Jeffrey Epstein records says impeachment papers are already written. Rep. Ro Khanna said articles of impeachment have been drafted against Attorney General Pam Bondi as frustration grows over delays and heavy redactions in the long awaited file release.
Speaking Sunday with independent journalist Aaron Parnas, Khanna said the department under Bondi has released only about half of the files it is required to make public. The release also came more than a month after the December deadline set by law. On top of that, Khanna said the documents that are out are riddled with redactions that go too far and, in some cases, are harmful.
“They have failed to redact some of the survivors. I’ve talked to the survivor’s lawyers, who are furious. And they have shielded, still, powerful men whose names are in those files, then redacted that,” Khanna said. “What we’re going to do is pursue every avenue to get as much as possible while we have the contempt and impeachment drafted and ready to go.”
Khanna has been working alongside Republican Rep. Thomas Massie on the issue, forming a rare bipartisan alliance. The two lawmakers led the charge last year to advance a discharge petition to force action on the Epstein files. That effort picked up steam as public anger grew, including backlash from supporters of President Donald Trump.
At one point, Trump tried to shut down the whole issue. During a White House Cabinet meeting, he cut off questions about Bondi’s past comments on Epstein and brushed off critics as “weaklings,” accusing them of falling for what he called the “Jeffrey Epstein Hoax.”
But by November, pressure had become too intense to ignore. Trump reversed course and backed a bipartisan bill designed to bypass House Speaker Mike Johnson’s control over what reaches the House floor. In a last-minute shift, he urged Republicans to join Democrats in passing the measure. It sailed through both chambers with near-universal support, and Trump signed it into law the same day.
Even so, the Justice Department missed its deadline under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. This past Friday, more than a month late, the department announced it would release over 3 million pages of documents, along with thousands of photos and videos. By Friday evening, more than 600,000 additional documents had been made public.
“I do think that threat has really pushed the Department of Justice in addition to our filings in court and making clear we’re prepared to bring a lawsuit,” Khanna told Parnas. “So, our goal is to get the files out, and we reserve the right to bring the contempt or impeachment at any moment, but that’s one of the final cards and what we want to do is get as much out as possible without just using the nuclear option.”
Khanna also told NBC that he and Massie have asked to meet with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to discuss the redactions and clarify when the remaining documents might be released.
Blanche, who previously served as Trump’s personal attorney, faced tough questioning on CNN from Dana Bash. He struggled to address concerns that the Justice Department had not seriously investigated unverified allegations involving Trump that appear in the files. Blanche said it was “unfair” to expect his agency to focus on claims tied to Trump simply because he is president.
The Epstein controversy has followed the Trump administration through his second term, fueled by an earlier joint statement from the FBI and Justice Department. That statement said Epstein died by suicide, that a supposed client list Bondi once suggested existed did not, and that no more documents were appropriate for release.
Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein and has never been charged or named as a target in any investigation. The Mirror US reached out to the White House for comment after the latest document release.
“This production may include fake or falsely submitted images, documents or videos, as everything that was sent to the FBI by the public was included in the production that is responsive to the Act,” a Justice Department statement sent through a White House spokesperson said. “Some of the documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election.”
“To be clear, the claims are unfounded and false, and if they have a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already,” the statement continued.
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