US Politics
Lawmakers threaten AG Pam Bondi with contempt for partial release of Epstein files
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Republican Rep. Thomas Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna are once again teaming up to ensure the release of the Epstein files, this time by pressuring Attorney General Pam Bondi to comply with their legislation or face contempt of Congress charges.
Massie and Khanna, who co-sponsored the Epstein Files Transparency Act, said Sunday they were in the process of drafting “inherent contempt” against Bondi and building a bipartisan coalition in the House of Representatives to punish her for not releasing the full files by the December 19 deadline.
“Todd Blanche is the face of this, but it’s really the Attorney General’s Office, Pam Bondi, who is responsible,” Massie told CBS’s Face the Nation. “The quickest way, and I think most expeditious way, to get justice for these victims is to bring inherent contempt against Pam Bondi.”
Inherent contempt is a congressional power that allows lawmakers to arrest and hold individuals until they comply with a congressional subpoena or punish them for obstructing investigations. It’s a self-enforcing power that gives Congress the ability to circumvent the typical civil or criminal court process.
Bondi’s office released hundreds of thousands of pages of redacted documents in the Epstein files Friday to comply with the law’s deadline. However, it was only a partial release of the materials in the Justice Department’s possession, which arguably defies the law’s language. Trump administration officials aid they would release more information from the files at a later date.
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The DOJ said it could only release the files in batches because they required redactions to protect survivors, the integrity of ongoing litigation, national security and omit details of physical or sexual abuse.
But Massie said the department’s decision to only release some now and some later was a “very troubling posture.”
Khanna called it a “slap in the face” to survivors, claiming one had their name accidentally released, but information about the people who abused her remained with the DOJ.
The lawmakers told CBS their contempt measure would only need to pass in the House to take effect and would fine Bondi every day the remainder of the Epstein files were not released. Khanna told the Washington Post, they would likely give the attorney general a 30-day grace period before they implemented the punishment.
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It’s unclear how much support Massie and Khanna could drum up in the House to pass the measure.
Blanche, the deputy attorney general, told NBC News’s Meet the Press that he is not taking lawmakers threats seriously and insisted the DOJ was doing “everything we’re supposed to be doing to comply with this statute.”
In the Senate, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday morning he would introduce a resolution directing the Senate to initiate legal action against the department for “its blatant disregard of the law.”
But Democratic Senator Tim Kaine indicated any punishment against Bondi was “premature.”