Overview
- Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie said they are drafting inherent-contempt charges to levy daily fines on Attorney General Pam Bondi until all Epstein records are released.
- The Justice Department published thousands of pages by the Dec. 19 deadline, but the lawmakers argue the release violates the law due to missing materials and heavy redactions, including a fully redacted 119-page grand jury transcript.
- Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the approach as necessary to protect victims and insisted the department is complying with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
- Khanna cited survivor accounts that a victim’s name was disclosed accidentally while certain FBI files tied to her alleged abusers remain withheld at her request.
- Inherent contempt could move forward without court involvement or Senate action, while alternatives like criminal referrals or civil enforcement face procedural limits, according to legal guidance.