A Republican congressman from Kentucky is questioning why the Justice Department suddenly decided to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to Democratic politicians. Rep. Thomas Massie thinks there might be more to this investigation than just finding answers. President Donald Trump told Attorney General Pam Bondi and the FBI to look into how Epstein was connected to former President Bill Clinton and other Democrats.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that this is “another Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, with all arrows pointing to the Democrats.” Bondi put Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton in charge of the investigation and said she would handle it “with urgency and integrity to deliver answers to the American people.”
But Massie sees things differently. When he spoke with Jonathan Karl on This Week on Sunday, as per Politico, he called the investigation “a last-ditch effort to prevent the release of the Epstein files.” He pointed out that “if they have ongoing investigations in certain areas, those documents can’t be released.” According to Massie, opening these investigations could be “a big smokescreen” to keep Epstein documents hidden from the public.
Something feels off about the timing here
The Justice Department announced this investigation right after the House Oversight Committee shared tens of thousands of emails from the Epstein estate. Those emails show who Epstein knew and talked to over more than ten years. The messages mention Trump, Clinton, and many other famous people from media, politics, and Hollywood.
Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, have been trying to make the Trump administration release all its files about Epstein. They got a big win on Wednesday when Rep. Adelita Grijalva, a new congresswoman from Arizona, added her name to their petition. This means the House can now vote on their bill even though Speaker Mike Johnson doesn’t want them to.
Right now, only three other Republicans have joined Massie by signing the petition. Still, he thinks many more will support the bill when everyone votes on it. He told “This Week” that he expects “a deluge of Republicans” to get behind the legislation, maybe even more than a hundred of them. Republican divisions over party strategy have been increasingly visible in recent months.
The House will vote on this bill on Tuesday. If enough members support it there, the Senate will need to vote on it too. Massie asked Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who is also a Republican, to “do the right thing” and let the Senate vote on it.
Massie feels confident he’s going to win this fight. Even though the speaker, attorney general, FBI director, president, and vice president have all tried to stop him for months, he said he is “winning this week with Ro Khanna.” He made it clear that “we’re forcing this vote, and it’s going to happen.” Internal Republican conflicts continue to shape congressional dynamics on various issues.
Published: Nov 17, 2025 03:45 pm