California and Kentucky congressmen on the release of Epstein files
(CBS, KYMA) - Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) spoke with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation Sunday about the release of the Epstein files.
The files were released Friday, but according the Department of Justice (DOJ), they have put out more than 13,000 files, and while they say it's incomplete, there is more to come.
This prompted Brennan to ask Rep. Massie if he acknowledges the DOJ is complying with the spirit and intent of the bill passed in Congress last month, to which the congressman said:
"No, they're flouting the spirit and the letter of the law. It's very troubling the posture that they've taken. And I won't be satisfied until the survivors are satisfied. You know, I said in the hours leading up to this release that we will know if they are complying, if they implicate any of the other criminals that are involved and the suspects that are involved. The witnesses...the victims themselves, have given to the FBI, and they've never been mentioned."
Brennan followed up by asking Rep. Khanna what action he wants to take around a case surrounding Maria Farmer, who filed a complaint to the FBI about Jeffrey Epstein back in 1996, but they failed to do a follow up.
"That was the single most important disclosure of what we got. I know Maria's sister. She sounded the alarm in 1996, she complained to the FBI. The problem is that Epstein was so connected with law enforcement and powerful politicians, the FBI did nothing for a decade. Frankly, she deserves compensation. She deserves an explanation, but the broader point is, Blanche was on this morning saying that Massie and I have a problem, that it's taking too long. That's not the problem. The problem is, this was a slap in the face of survivors. What do they want? They want to know who are the rich and powerful men who visited Epstein's rape island and covered up the abuse and the key documents that our law basically said needed to be released. The 60-count indictment that actually implicates a lot of these people and the prosecution memo were not released. It's not about the timeline, it's about the selective concealment."
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.)
During the interview, Brennan and the congressmen talked about Massie posting a video saying there are at least 20 men accused of sex crimes known to the FBI, leading Brennan to ask how Massie knew that number, and if he knows of any names, and Massie said:
"The survivors' lawyers have told me those numbers, and they've described their professions and in general, but they've only given me one of those names, and I mentioned that in a congressional hearing, Jess Staley. So I searched these documents, I didn't see Jess Staley's name, nor did I see 19 other names. And here's why we shouldn't be optimistic that Blanche or Bondi are going to release these things. They sent a six page memo to Congress and said they cited pre-existing laws as reasons that they weren't going to follow our law. For instance, our law requires them to release information regardless of embarrassment, but they are trying to say that a previous law prevails when it doesn't. Common sense says it doesn't, the Privacy Act doesn't protect them from that. And then also, as Ro said, internal communications those they're using a FOIA standard that doesn't apply because our law already says they have to give us internal communications."
Later in the interview, Brennan asked Khanna why he thinks a photo of a open drawer showing a photo of President Donald Trump was pulled down, and Khanna said:
"I'm less concerned about that photo. I don't know the facts. My concern is the major documents that we know are out there that haven't been released, the 60-count indictment that shows massive financial fraud and foreign interference, the prosecution memo and look...They put out these Bill Clinton pictures- Well, they- there are allegations that there are foreign governments that potentially were involved. And that all needs to come out. And it needs to come out in the indictments, it needs to come out in the prosecution memos. But the reality is, they put out these pictures for Bill Clinton. Fine, put it all out. But don't distract from the fundamental issue, which is, who are these powerful people who were visited the rape island? I mean, they're 1200 victims. It defies common sense that it was just Epstein and- and Maxwell, and they're hiding something. And you know why the American people are so upset? My X account had MAGA supporters supporting me for the first time, saying, you know, Pam Bondi whiffed, according to Susan Wiles, she is breaking the law. She needs to be held accountable."
To watch more of Brennan's interview with the congressmen, click here.
