Rogue Republican Thomas Massie has savaged his party’s botched handling of controversial issues, from the economy to Jeffrey Epstein.
Massie has infuriated President Donald Trump by repeatedly criticizing the staggered release of all of the Epstein files, despite the Epstein Files Transparency Act requiring that all documents be released by Dec. 19, 2025.
On Thursday, Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna—who co-sponsored the bill to force the files’ release—asked U.S. district judge Paul Engelmeyer to appoint a special master to compel the Department of Justice to release all the remaining files on the late sex offender.
Massie has also threatened Attorney General Pam Bondi with contempt of Congress over missing multiple deadlines to release overdue documents.
Despite these actions against his fellow Republicans, Massie told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Thursday that he still supports his party. He even calculated that he votes with Republicans “91 percent” of the time.
“But when they‘re covering up for pedophiles or starting a new war or doing regime change or bankrupting the country…” he said. “That 9 percent, I‘m not with my party.”
Massie also admitted that standing up for what he believes in, even when that goes against what Trump is fighting for, comes at a steep professional price. On Monday, the president gave his full endorsement for “MAGA Warriors” to support former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein to replace Massie in Kentucky.
“It definitely hurts me to campaign with the president against me,” Massie said, acknowledging the Republican primaries are going to be hotly contested.
“That’s why you don’t see other members of the Republican Party sticking their necks out. They’re afraid of the president.”
But there’s a silver lining to being a renegade, according to Massie. The congressman revealed that Trump’s savage Truth Social post, which the president posted on Tuesday calling Massie “the Worst ‘Republican’ Congressman we have had in many years,” and “weak and pathetic,” has actually been a boon to fundraising.
Massie told Tapper he raised $80,000 in campaign donations after Trump endorsed Gallrein from “People who want to see somebody up here who will speak their mind and speak for their constituents instead of just for their party.”
“And by the way,” he added, “most of those donors are Trump supporters. They just want to see a Republican who will exhibit some independent thought.”
During the CNN interview, Massie doubled down on his complaints about the Justice Department missing two key deadlines to release the remainder of the Epstein files. He claimed they are withholding “specific documents where we know there are individuals who will be named.”
Massie also added, “We believe they’re over-redacting the files in contravention of the law.”
The Republican also confirmed Marjorie Taylor Greene’s claim that Trump had told her releasing the Epstein files would mean the president’s friends would “get hurt.”
“Marjorie shared that with me privately the day it happened,” Massie said of the freshly-retired Congresswoman.
As for just what might be hiding in the Epstein files, Massie is “not concerned” that Trump will be “implicated criminally.”
“He may be embarrassed, but he‘s had embarrassing issues before,” Massie said. “I think he has friends who are going to be criminally implicated, and if not, I think there’s some serious reputational harm that‘s going to happen. Maybe you‘ll have names taken off of buildings and scholarships renamed as a result of these releases.”
Massie also called out several instances where he claims Bondi’s Department of Justice is “violating” the law, including using the privacy act to redact names and not releasing their internal communications.
“The president signed this bill,” Massie said. “They have to release this information. And that’s why we’re asking for a special master.”
He also added a warning to Bondi’s team. “I want to remind those folks at the DOJ: you can be prosecuted by a future DOJ for violating this law because it‘s a law. It‘s not a Congressional subpoena that expires at the end of this Congress. It will last forever.”
The post Trump’s GOP Nemesis Accuses Republicans of ‘Covering for Pedophiles’ appeared first on The Daily Beast.
