Acting Attorney GeneralTodd Blancheis set to appear in front of a House appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday, and he will undoubtedly face questions related to the Justice Department’s handling of its investigation intoJeffrey Epstein.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. — who, along with Rep.Thomas Massie, R-Ky., co-sponsored theEpstein Files Transparency Act, which mandated the public release of all DOJ records related to the investigation — joined MS NOW’s“The Weekend”on Sunday to discuss what he views as the department’s failure to comply with the legislation. He also spoke of his proposal for a new “Epstein class” subcommittee to investigate associates of the late financier and convicted sex offender.
Khanna noted that the Justice Department was still withholding millions of documents, months after the deadline for their release. “Massie and I drafted the law, they’re in violation of the law, and the people they’re hurting are the survivors,” he said.
The California Democrat also questioned why the Justice Department had not launched investigations into any ofthe associates of Epsteinwho have been named in the documents. “There has not been a single investigation or prosecution since the release of these millions of files,” he said.
Khanna, who sits on the House Oversight Committee, pledged that if Democrats retake the House, they will work to “aggressively prosecute and hold accountable” any person who aided the late financier and his crimes. “When we take back the Congress, there should be an ‘Epstein class’ subcommittee,” he said.
Khanna noted that Democrats have had some success as the minority party in pushing forward the investigation, telling MS NOW, “We’ve gotten 3 million files released because of the courage of the survivors, because of our aggressiveness; 20 or so people have resigned.” But he said that until his party regains control of the House and the White House, true accountability will not be possible.
“In terms of beginning investigations and prosecutions, that’s going to take a new attorney general,” he said.
You can watch Khanna’s full interview in the clip at the top of the page.
Allison Detzel
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW. She was previously a segment producer for “AYMAN” and “The Mehdi Hasan Show.”
