California Lawmaker’s Claims About Epstein Files Backfire
A California congressman sparked controversy after he publicly stated the names of six individuals he claimed were “wealthy and powerful” people connected to the Epstein files, only to discover that four of them were just regular people without any ties to the late financier. Representative Ro Khanna, who serves Silicon Valley, faced backlash from the Justice Department after revealing the names of four men who had unknowingly appeared in an FBI photo lineup years ago.
Jumping into the fray, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie from Kentucky disclosed the actual identities of these individuals. “There are millions of files, right? And within a few hours, we found six men whose names were redacted who were involved in how the files were presented,” Massie commented.
A spokesperson for Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche criticized both Khanna and Massie, stating, “Rep. Ro Khanna and Rep. Thomas Massie exposed completely random individuals, men and women, from FBI lineups many years ago. These people are not connected to Epstein or Maxwell.”
One of the individuals revealed was Salvatore Nuarte from Queens, New York. He was unaware that his name was being linked to this controversy. “I kept dragging myself through the mud until I spoke to the Guardian,” Nuarte explained. After reaching out to Khanna’s office, he received an email attributing the mix-up to the Department of Justice.
“I don’t know if they know what they’re doing at the Justice Department,” Nuarte expressed. “How can I clear my name?”
Another misidentified person, Leonid Leonov, an IT manager, had his name wrongly spelled as “Leonik” in the documents. He was equally upset about the situation, stating, “I don’t even have a second or third degree connection to him. I’ve never worked for him, nothing.”
It’s worth noting that both men did have previous arrests by the NYPD for unrelated incidents. Out of the six names Khanna mentioned, two were confirmed. Emirati billionaire Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, who appears in the files thousands of times, resigned from his position at DP World after disturbing revelations about his correspondence with Epstein came to light. Meanwhile, retail mogul Leslie Wexner has stated that in 2019, her attorney informed her that she was regarded as a source, not a target.
“An assistant U.S. attorney told Mr. Wexner’s lawyers in 2019 that he was considered a source of information about Epstein and was not a target at all. Mr. Wexner cooperated fully and provided background information about Epstein, but was not contacted afterward,” a legal representative clarified.
After the mishap received attention, Khanna criticized the Justice Department again. “I wish the Justice Department had given that explanation sooner instead of redacting and later unredacting their names. The Justice Department has failed to protect survivors, created chaos for innocent men, and shielded powerful abusers,” he stated.
