Contentious Congressional Hearing on Epstein Redactions
During a Congressional hearing on Wednesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie found themselves in a fiery debate regarding the redactions in the Jeffrey Epstein file.
Massie, one of the few Republicans advocating for a bill compelling the Justice Department to publish all documents related to Epstein, believes it’s crucial to uncover the full scope of his actions. “They literally did the worst thing to the survivors,” he stated emphatically.
Sharing their frustration, Massie and California Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat, criticized the Justice Department for allegedly obscuring information about suspected co-conspirators. They managed to review unresponsive files more than a month past their intended release date. Although the law permits the redaction of victims’ names, the Department appeared to have disproportionately concealed details, which raised eyebrows.
Following Massie and Khanna’s inquiries, the Justice Department subsequently reversed some redactions after the names of alleged co-conspirators were disclosed.
“To my right is an email that the victim’s attorney sent to the Department of Justice…a list of names that should not be published,” Massie said, visibly agitated. He pointed out that the Justice Department went ahead and released this email during their document preparations, which he viewed as a severe error against the survivors.
“We know you touched the document because you redacted one person’s name,” he added, noting that the survivor’s name remained public while the attorney’s name was concealed.
Massie focused particularly on the redaction concerning former Victoria’s Secret CEO Les Wexner, who has been suggested as a co-conspirator due to his long-standing association with Epstein. “Within 40 minutes, Wexner’s name was added back,” Bondi remarked.
“Within 40 minutes of being caught!” Massie retorted, underscoring how quickly the reversal occurred.
In July 2019, Wexner stated that he had long severed ties with Epstein and insisted, “I would no longer work with anyone who engages in the kind of egregious and disgusting behavior that has been reported.” He maintained he had no prior knowledge of Epstein’s illegal activities, despite their professional relationship.
This week, Wexner’s spokesperson mentioned to Columbus Dispatch that U.S. attorneys had informed Wexner’s legal team in 2019 that he was not a co-conspirator or target. His team indicated Wexner fully cooperated at that time, providing background information about Epstein but had not been contacted since.
The exchange between Bondi and Massie escalated into a shouting match, with Bondi accusing Massie of being a nuisance. “That was one of over 4,700 edits,” she laughed, dismissing the accusations. “This man has Trump Derangement Syndrome! You are a failed politician!”
