Four men whose names were read on the House floor by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) in connection with newly unredacted Jeffrey Epstein files have no apparent ties to the late sex offender, according to a new report in the Guardian.
Khanna – who, along with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), pressed the DOJ to lift redactions from the Epstein files – cited six names earlier this week, describing them as “wealthy, powerful men the DOJ hid” in the files. But after questions from the Guardian, the DOJ said four of the individuals Khanna named were not connected to Epstein at all.
Instead, according to a DOJ spokesperson, the names came from a photo lineup assembled years ago by the Southern District of New York for investigative purposes.
“Rep Ro Khanna and Rep Thomas Massie forced the unmasking of completely random people selected years ago for an FBI lineup – men and women,” the spokesperson said. “These individuals have NOTHING to do with Epstein or Maxwell.”
Two of the six people Khanna named include Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, an Emirati billionaire, who has since stepped down from his role leading a major international logistics company, and billionaire retail magnate Leslie Wexner. The other four, however, had no public profiles.
The Guardian spoke with two men named by Khanna, both of whom strongly denied ever knowing Epstein. One said he had no idea his name had been mentioned on the House floor until contacted by the outlet.
“The two men acknowledged they were arrested by the NYPD in the past for unrelated crimes, which could explain how their photos ended up in a photo array assembled by law enforcement,” according to the Guardian report.
Salvatore Nuarte, of Queens, New York, said he contacted Khanna’s office after learning of his name being mentioned. “I don’t know if they know what they are doing over there at the justice department,” he told the Guardian. “But how can I clear my name?”
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