The Justice Department redacted the names of at least six men who are "likely incriminated" by their inclusion in the Epstein files, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said after reviewing unredacted versions of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.
Why it matters: The lawmakers said they want to allow DOJ time to further unredact those files, but have also put sharing the names on the House floor on the table. Association with Epstein has plagued powerful people across the U.S. and the globe.
- The lawmakers would be protected by the House's speech and debate clause if they were to read them on the floor, providing them with immunity from civil or criminal liability.
- Massie told reporters that one of the men is "pretty high up" in a foreign government, and another is a prominent individual.
- The lawmakers didn't elaborate on what they meant or specify the conduct at issue.
Driving the news: The Justice Department agreed to let lawmakers access the full documents following a written request from House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).
- Democrats and some Republicans have argued that the DOJ is skirting its statutory requirements under the Epstein Transparency Act by withholding millions of documents and heavily redacting some of the files they did release.
The details: The documents will be available on computers in a reading room at the DOJ building in Washington, D.C., from 9am to 6pm, Monday through Friday.
- Members must give at least 24 hours' notice and cannot bring in electronic devices, though they are permitted to take notes.
The intrigue: Massie and Khanna said that many of the files they viewed were still redacted, meaning they came to DOJ either from the FBI or a grand jury with strike-throughs.
- "I don't think that's nefarious on the career attorneys that were reviewing it, but they obviously haven't gotten the production because our law says that the FBI and the original grand jury needs to be unredacted, right?
- The US attorneys and the FBI are compelled as well as the DOJ," Massie said.
- The lawmakers also said that some of the files taken down by DOJ were still not available for review.
The other side: "We are confident that this review will further demonstrate the Department's good faith work to appropriately process an enormous volume of documents in a very short time," Assistant Attorney General Patrick Davis wrote in a letter to members of Congress.
