Republican Rep. Thomas Massie warned Trump administration officials they can’t run out the clock on a plan to hold them accountable for failing to release the full Jeffrey Epstein files.
Officials have been slow to release the files, which by law were supposed to be made public by Dec. 19, as the DOJ heavily redacts the documents and scrubs references to President Donald Trump.
Massie and his Epstein Transparency Act co-sponsor, Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, have threatened to hold Attorney General Pam Bondi in contempt of Congress if her Justice Department doesn’t release its millions of investigative files on the late sex offender.
Massie: Typically, with contempt, you might refer it to the DOJ, and the DOJ never prosecutes, and the problem goes away at the end of the Congress. This law does not expire. They’ve got a real problem—they could be in jeopardy after this Congress. pic.twitter.com/za2hTR7bGk
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 7, 2026
But typically, it falls to the DOJ to prosecute defendants for contempt of Congress, raising the question of how likely it is that Bondi’s own Justice Department will hold itself accountable.
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Massie acknowledged that in most contempt cases, Congress refers a case to the DOJ when a witness refuses to comply with a congressional subpoena.
If the DOJ fails to prosecute, the problem goes away at the end of the Congress because the subpoena has expired, the Kentucky Republican said. That’s not the case with the Epstein files, though.
“This law does not expire at the end of Congress, so they’ve got a real problem,” Massie said. “The contempt that the Congress refers? They could be in jeopardy of that even after this Congress expires.”
Massie and Khanna have said they’re willing to give the DOJ a 30-day grace period, but after that they want to hit Bondi with a fine for every day the files are not released.
They’ve also threatened to prosecute anyone who attempts to conceal or scrub the files, and vowed to bypass the DOJ and go straight to the Southern District of New York, which charged Epstein with sex trafficking, if necessary.
The DOJ has yet to release an estimated 5.2 million files, and enlisted hundreds of lawyers to review the materials before they’re made public. That work is expected to last at least until Jan. 20, sources told The New York Times last week.
Bondi has said the delays are needed to make redactions to protect Epstein’s victims.
Massie, however, dismissed that explanation on Tuesday.
“If this were a private law firm with 5 percent of the resources of the DOJ, this would have been done by the deadline,” he told reporters. “They just missed another deadline, which is to report Congress all of the politicians in their files.”
Massie on Epstein Files: If this were a private law firm with 5% of the resources of the DOJ, this would have been done by the deadline. They just missed another deadline to report all of the politicians in their files, and they’re supposed to justify all of their redactions.… pic.twitter.com/9AMhP6Ezxg
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 7, 2026
The Daily Beast has reached out to the DOJ for comment.
Trump was friends with Epstein for more than a decade before the pair had a falling out in the early 2000s. He has denied having any knowledge of, or participation in, Epstein’s crimes.
In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution of a minor and received a sweetheart deal that allowed him to serve a vastly reduced sentence, despite evidence that he had abused dozens of victims.
After the Southern District of New York revived the case in 2019, he was found dead in his prison cell in what officials say was a suicide.
The post Republican Warns Trump Officials of Prosecution Over Epstein Files appeared first on The Daily Beast.
