Both cosponsors of the Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA) are accusing President Donald Trump's administration of violating the law the president signed last month.
After the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday released its first tranche of several thousand documents and photos pertaining to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein's two federal investigations, legal observers remarked that hundreds of pages of files were entirely redacted, while significant portions of other documents are also redacted. Many of the photos also include significant redactions.
While the EFTA gives Attorney General Pam Bondi final discretion over redactions in order to conceal victims' names and other identifying information — and also gives her the power to make redactions so as not to jeopardize ongoing investigations – Trump himself appears to be entirely scrubbed from the files despite his documented closeness with Epstein. Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who initially introduced the EFTA in mid-July, both sharply criticized the administration over the heavy redactions in Friday's release. In a video posted to X, Khanna noted that a 119-page New York grand jury testimony was completely redacted from top to bottom.
"Our law requires them to explain redactions. There's not a single explanation for why that entire document was redacted," Khanna said. "We have not seen the draft indictment that implicates other rich and powerful men ... who either watched the abuse of young girls or participated in the abuse of young girls and the sex trafficking."
"The reality is, Pam Bondi has obfuscated for months. She first said there were no documents to be seen, now she's admitting and releasing hundreds of thousands of documents, but it is an incomplete release with too many redactions," he continued. "Thomas Massie and I are exploring all options. It can be impeachment of people at Justice, inherent contempt, or referring for prosecution those who are obstructing justice."
Massie agreed in his own post, saying that Khanna was "correct" in his assessment.
"Unfortunately, today’s document release by @AGPamBondi and @DAGToddBlanche grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law that @realDonaldTrump signed just 30 days ago," Massie wrote, tagging the official X handles of Trump, Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.