Attorney General Pam Bondi will be fined every day that the Justice Department fails to release all the Jeffrey Epstein files if a bipartisan effort to hold her in contempt of Congress proves successful.
Kentucky GOP Rep. Thomas Massie and California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna—who authored the legislation forcing the DOJ to release all Epstein-related files—say they plan to pursue legal action against Bondi for failing to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed by President Donald Trump.
After a 30-day grace period, she would face daily punishment under their plan.
While the DOJ did release a trove of documents on Friday, potentially hundreds of thousands of Epstein-related records remain unreleased. Of the material made public, hundreds of pages were heavily redacted, including documents tied to a grand jury investigation that were entirely blacked out. The DOJ also removed at least 16 files that had initially been available online, including one that featured photographs of Trump.
Speaking to The Washington Post, Khanna said he and Massie hope to initiate contempt of Congress proceedings against Bondi, a move that would only need to pass the House. He said he intends to give Bondi 30 days to release the remaining Epstein files before slapping her with a daily fine until she complies with the law.
“Our goal is not to take down Bondi,” Khanna told the Post. “Our goal is to get the documents out for the survivors. Our goal is to take down the rich and powerful men who went to rape island and covered up the abuse.”
Khanna added that he wants a congressional committee to review the redacted materials to ensure the redactions are warranted. The DOJ has said many of the redactions were made to protect victims’ privacy or minors.
Massie, a longtime nemesis of Trump, said pursuing contempt of Congress is one of “several ways” to compel Bondi to release all files as required by law.
“Some take longer. Some are shorter. The quickest way, and I think the most expeditious way, to get justice for these victims is to bring inherent contempt against Pam Bondi, and that doesn’t require going through the courts,” Massie told CBS News’ Face the Nation on Sunday. “Ro Khanna and I are talking about and drafting that right now.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche dismissed talk of impeachment or contempt proceedings against Bondi for incomplete compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
“Bring it on,” Blanche told NBC’s Meet the Press. “We are doing everything we’re supposed to be doing to comply with this statute.”
The partial release of the Epstein files has reignited claims of an alleged cover-up of crimes committed by the late sex trafficker and his network of high-profile individuals. Those concerns reached a fever pitch in July after the FBI and DOJ stated there was no evidence of a so-called Epstein “client list,” despite Bondi telling Fox News in February that such material was “sitting on my desk ready for review.”
Questions have also been raised about the lack of Trump in the Epstein files released so far, despite even the president’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, acknowledging to Vanity Fair that he would appear in them.
Trump is mentioned in one court document released as part of the Epstein files. A 2020 lawsuit against Epstein’s estate and Maxwell alleges that Epstein introduced a 14-year-old girl to Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
Epstein is alleged to have “playfully” asked Trump, in reference to the girl, “This is a good one, right?”
Trump has long denied any involvement, or even being aware, of Epstein’s sex crimes.
The Daily Beast has contacted the Department of Justice for comment.
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