Patriot Brief

  • What Happened: Rep. Ro Khanna publicly named six men he and Rep. Thomas Massie found redacted in the Epstein files after reviewing documents at the Justice Department.
  • Why It Matters: Khanna said the FBI sent "scrubbed files" hiding survivors' statements naming rich and powerful men who went to Epstein's properties and abused underage girls.
  • Bottom Line: Khanna asked why it took two congressmen two hours to find six hidden names and demanded the DOJ unredact all files as required by law.

Rep. Ro Khanna just did what the Justice Department refused to do. He named the six men the FBI tried to hide in the Epstein files.

On the House floor Tuesday, Khanna publicly revealed the identities of six men he and Rep. Thomas Massie discovered had been redacted from the Epstein documents. The two lawmakers spent just two hours reviewing unredacted files at a DOJ office Monday and found six names they believe show criminal culpability.

"Now my question is, why did it take Thomas Massie and me going to the Justice Department to get these six men's identities to become public?" Khanna said. "And if we found six men that they were hiding in two hours, imagine how many men they are covering up for in those 3 million files."

Khanna did not hold back. He accused the FBI of sending scrubbed files to the Justice Department, deliberately hiding survivor statements that named rich and powerful men who went to Epstein's island, ranch, and home to rape and abuse underage girls or witness them being paraded around.

"It's a little bit of a farce," Khanna said.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act requires narrow redactions only to protect victims. But the FBI went far beyond that, shielding powerful men while in some cases failing to conceal victims' identities.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche fired back at Massie on Tuesday, accusing him of "grandstanding." But the Justice Department responded by unredacting several new pages, proving the congressmen were right to call them out.

Khanna's decision to name the six men on the House floor gives him legal protection under the Speech and Debate Clause, shielding him from defamation suits. He made clear this is not a witch hunt and that inclusion in files does not mean guilt. But he also emphasized that very powerful people raped underage girls beyond just Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

The American people deserve the full truth. Every name needs to be released. And the FBI needs to explain why they scrubbed files meant to expose child predators.