Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna said Friday that critical records are missing from the U.S. Justice Department’s initial release of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, accusing the government of failing to comply with a law Congress passed to make those materials public.
“The most important documents are missing,” Khanna told CNN, responding to the Justice Department’s release of thousands of Epstein-related files earlier in the day under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. He said the materials released so far include “excessive redactions” and do not satisfy the law’s requirements.
According to Khanna, the partial disclosure does not answer what he described as the central question the public deserves clarity on: “Who are the other rich and powerful men on the island, raping these young girls or covering up?”
Khanna co-authored the bipartisan legislation with Republican Rep. Thomas Massie. The bill, signed into law last month by President Donald Trump, required the Justice Department to release most Epstein-related records by Friday, allowing only limited redactions for victims’ personal information and other narrowly defined categories.
Key documents reportedly missing
Khanna said the release appears to exclude two specific documents that survivors of Epstein’s abuse had urged Congress to make public. One is a 60-count federal indictment drafted in 2007 by a federal prosecutor in Florida. The other is a detailed memorandum summarizing evidence supporting those charges.
Two months after the indictment was prepared, then–U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta reached a highly controversial agreement with Epstein, under which federal charges were dropped in exchange for Epstein pleading guilty to lesser state offenses. Epstein served a brief jail sentence, registered as a sex offender, and paid financial settlements to victims.
Acosta later became Trump’s first labor secretary, serving from 2017 to 2019 before resigning amid renewed scrutiny of his handling of the Epstein case.
“Thomas Massie and I explicitly drafted the legislation to cover those two documents,” Khanna said, adding that their omission raises serious concerns about compliance with the law.
After Khanna’s interview aired, Massie shared the clip on social media, writing that Attorney General Pam Bondi was “withholding specific documents that the law required her to release by today.”
Redactions spark bipartisan criticism
The Justice Department released roughly 3,900 files on Friday, most of them photographs, according to media reviews. Hundreds of pages were completely blacked out, including documents labeled as grand jury material. Officials said additional records will be released on a rolling basis due to the volume of material, according to Reuters.
The limited disclosure quickly drew criticism from both Democrats and some Republicans. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said the release represents only “a fraction” of the evidence, while Sen. Adam Schiff called on Bondi to explain the delays and heavy redactions.
More than 350 pages in the release were entirely redacted, including two consecutive documents of roughly 100 pages each and another 55-page file. Several documents were blacked out in full, including one labeled “Grand Jury–NY,” leaving their contents unclear, according to CBS News.
DOJ response
The Justice Department said Friday on X that it did not redact the names of politicians from the Epstein files. The department also shared a statement attributed to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, saying: “The only redactions being applied to the documents are those required by law — full stop. Consistent with the statute and applicable laws, we are not redacting the names of individuals or politicians unless they are a victim.”
The files released so far include minimal references to Trump, while containing multiple photos and mentions of former President Bill Clinton. Clinton has acknowledged traveling with Epstein but has denied any knowledge of his crimes and has never been accused of wrongdoing.
As pressure mounts from lawmakers in both parties, Khanna said Congress expects the Justice Department to fully comply with the law and release the remaining records, particularly those that could shed light on how Epstein was protected for years and who may have been involved.
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