US congressmen ask judge to appoint official to force release of all Epstein files | Jeffrey Epstein
Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives have asked a federal judge to appoint a special authority to force the Justice Department to release all files related to disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
On Thursday, Democratic representative Ro Khanna of California and Republican representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky he asked US district judge Paul Engelmayer will release the full Epstein files under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Khanna and Massie, who criticized the justice department for not releasing all the files by last year’s Dec. 19 deadline, said in a letter: “Not only was the DOJ’s conduct a clear violation of mandatory disclosure obligations under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, but, as this Court has recognized in its prior decisions, the DOJ’s conduct caused significant trauma to survivors.”
“As leaders of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, we have immediate and serious concerns about the Department of Justice’s failure to comply with the Act and the Department’s violation of this Court’s decision,” the representatives said, adding: “Simply put, the Department of Justice cannot be relied upon to make mandatory disclosures under the Act.”
I point to the ministry of justice application to court Khanna and Massie cast doubt on these figures, stating that 12,285 documents had been released earlier this week (accounting for less than 1% of all relevant files) and that a further 2 million documents were being reviewed.
“Because these figures are self-reported and internally inconsistent with prior statements, there is reasonable suspicion that the Department of Justice has exaggerated the scope of the responsive materials, thereby portraying compliance as unmanageable and effectively delaying disclosure,” the letter said.
Khanna and Massie also noted that the justice department failed to submit required reports to the House and Senate judiciary committees within 15 days of the deadline, detailing redactions and other records that were blocked from release.
“To date, no such report has been submitted. Without it, there can be no authoritative accounting of what records exist, what is withheld, or why, making effective oversight and forensic review much more difficult,” they said.
As part of their request, Khanna and Massie asked Engelmayer to authorize the independent monitor to inform the court “of the true nature and extent of the production of documents and whether there have been improper redactions or other improper conduct.”
“We do not believe that, absent an independent process as noted above, the Department of Justice will produce the records required by the Act and the records it submits to this Court,” the representatives said.
