‘They need to check their own homework’: Lawmakers find six ‘likely incriminated’ men after just two hours reviewing millions of Epstein files

Representatives Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna found at least six people “likely incriminated” in unredacted Jeffrey Epstein files after searching for only two hours. Massie is a Republican from Kentucky, and Khanna is a Democrat from California. They are the two lawmakers who created the bill that forced these files to be released to the public.

According to The Hill, the lawmakers were allowed to look at the completely unredacted versions of all Justice Department files about the convicted sex offender on Monday. Massie told reporters outside the DOJ office that they spent just a couple of hours looking through millions of files. 

They quickly found six men whose names were blacked out but were clearly connected to the case based on how the information was presented. The lawmakers did not share the names they found. However, they said one of the six men is a high-ranking official in a foreign government. Another is a well-known person in the United States.

The DOJ’s redaction process raises serious questions about accountability

Khanna said that being in the files does not automatically mean someone is guilty. He explained this is not a “witch hunt.” He pointed out that very powerful people either went to the island or the ranch, or took part in activities knowing that underage girls were being paraded around. It was not just Epstein and his close partner Ghislaine Maxwell involved. Maxwell recently made headlines with her own statements about revealing information related to the case.

The lawmakers’ review showed some very questionable decisions made during the redaction process. Massie talked about an FBI form that listed conspirators. The Justice Department chose to redact the name and even the photo of one man who was listed as a conspirator on this official form.

The redaction problem goes even deeper than expected. Massie and Khanna learned that some documents the DOJ received from the FBI and the grand jury were already redacted when they arrived. Khanna noted that the law required the review team to have complete access to all files. This means the original grand jury and FBI material needed to be unredacted, but the career attorneys reviewing the files did not have full access to everything.

The lawmakers pointed out a disturbing email that got a lot of attention. In the email, a redacted person thanked Epstein for a “fun night” and added, “Your littlest girl was a little naughty.” Massie said the sender of that email was a woman. He noted that the DOJ seemed to black out almost every woman mentioned in the files.

Massie is not going to release the names he found yet. He believes the Justice Department needs to take responsibility for its errors. He said, “They need to themselves check their own homework.” The DOJ now faces serious questions about why these names were protected for so long. Elon Musk previously offered legal support for those speaking publicly about Epstein.