
Ro Khanna, Thomas Massie, and the Plot to Release the Epstein Files
About this episode
The Atlantic's Sarah Fitzpatrick, who has spent over a decade reporting on Jeffrey Epstein, published a detailed timeline of how the Epstein Files Transparency Act came to exist. Hawk walks through that article, adding context and commentary throughout. At the center of the story is an unlikely political partnership between Representative Ro Khanna, a progressive Democrat from Silicon Valley, and Representative Thomas Massie, a conservative Republican from Kentucky. Together, with support from Marjorie Taylor Greene, Nancy Mace, and Lauren Boebert, they pushed through legislation forcing the release of the Epstein files after the DOJ and FBI sent an unsigned letter in July 2025 declaring the files closed and Epstein's death a suicide.
Pam Bondi handed out binders of previously released and heavily redacted documents to right-wing media figures at the White House a year ago, then told Fox News she had truckloads of evidence and the Epstein client list on her desk. Meanwhile, the FBI assigned 1,000 personnel to catalog every mention of Donald Trump's name in the files. Trump's name appears tens of thousands of times. He is the first person listed on a DOJ slide titled "Prominent Names" and is linked to an accusation involving a minor, documents that were withheld or deleted from the DOJ website.
The fallout outside the U.S. has included arrests of prominent figures in Norway, scrutiny of Prince Andrew and Peter Mandelson in Britain, and resignations across Europe. Thirteen Trump administration officials, including six cabinet members, are implicated. Back in Congress, only one member, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, voted against the bill. Thomas Massie told the author he believes he may have shortened his own life by pursuing this. Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Epstein's most prominent accuser and Prince Andrew's accuser, died by suicide last year. At a recent congressional hearing, eight Epstein survivors stood directly behind Pam Bondi. Every one raised their hand confirming their offers to testify had been ignored. Bondi never turned around.
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