Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is taking the Justice Department to task for redacting the names or personally identifiable information of alleged co-conspirators to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after the congressman viewed unredacted versions of the Epstein files on Monday.
Massie disclosed the latest revelations from his first viewing of the Epstein files in a series of social media posts late Monday. The posts were directly aimed at Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who maintains the department is complying with a law passed by Congress late last year.
Providing a summary of his findings after looking at the government files, Massie said the DOJ “unredacted an FBI file that LABELS two individuals as co-conspirators,” “unredacted a file that lists several men who might be implicated,” and “tacitly admitted that Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem was the sender of the torture video.”
Bin Sulayem, who leads logistics company DP World, allegedly emailed Epstein about a “torture video” that Epstein said he “loved” in 2009. The Emirati businessman’s email address was redacted in one of the recently released investigative documents.
Blanche said only the sultan’s email address was redacted instead of his name, which can be seen in a separate document. An email address is considered a piece of personally identifiable information, for which the deputy attorney general noted redactions are required under law.
“Be honest, and stop grandstanding,” Blanche told Massie. The congressman later fired back.
“Until tonight no one knew who sent the torture video to Epstein,” Massie said. “I went to DOJ, unredacted the email, and reverse searched the email to discover it was a Sultans. Our law requires VICTIM’s information to be redacted, not information of men who sent Epstein torture porn!”
Blanche also faced pushback from Massie over the DOJ’s redactions of nonvictims’ names in documents that contain victims’ names too. Massie argued that both types of information do not have to be hidden. In response, Blanche said “all non-victim names” were “unredacted” from one particular document and insisted the department “is committed to transparency.”
Massie felt otherwise after visiting the DOJ with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) to view the Epstein files.
“Here DOJ acts as if they were justified in redacting the men’s names simply because the document contains victims names,” the Kentucky Republican said. “Tonight they learned you can redact victim names while still publishing the other names, per our law.”
The Epstein Files Transparency Act compels the DOJ to release all of its unclassified documents related to Epstein within 30 days. Massie and Khanna argue the DOJ did not release the documents in full and on time, which is why they are getting involved to view the files personally.
Earlier Monday, Massie suggested the name of a “well known retired CEO” and co-conspirator was redacted in the publicly available versions of the Epstein files. Blanche revealed that the executive was former Victoria’s Secret CEO Les Wexner, whose name was later unredacted.
“We have just unredacted Les Wexner’s name from this document, but his name already appears in the files thousands of times,” Blanche wrote on X. “DOJ is hiding nothing.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) also criticized the DOJ over the previous redaction.
“Why did you redact Les Wexner’s name here in the first place?” she asked. “Are there other documents where you have redacted his name, which is against Congress’ orders?”
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who has been particularly outspoken about Epstein and the disclosure of the related files, posed a similar question.
“If Les Wexner is listed by the DOJ/FBI as a ‘co-conspirator’ in the Epstein files, why isn’t he in jail?” she posted on X.
Mace said she will be visiting the DOJ on Tuesday to view the Epstein files herself.
“When I head to DOJ today, my primary interest is in information about co-conspirators,” she told her followers. “I am digging into what files to view unredacted. If you have suggestions based on documents you’ve read about, please post the EFTA document ID and screenshot below so I can add it to the list of documents to review.”
The DOJ released more than 3.5 million pages of investigative material in addition to thousands of videos and images late last month. Blanche delivered the announcement, describing the move as part of the department’s effort to comply with the law requiring broad transparency around the federal Epstein investigations.
Congress is particularly interested in the issue and has taken steps to get more answers on Epstein’s illicit actions.
MASSIE AND KHANNA CLAIM DOJ REDACTED NAMES OF ‘LIKELY INCRIMINATED’ MEN IN EPSTEIN FILES
During a closed-door deposition on Monday, Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and refused to answer questions until she is granted clemency by the president. Five more depositions in the Epstein case are scheduled over the course of the next month, according to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY).
Wexner’s deposition is scheduled for Feb. 18. Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are set to testify before Congress on Feb. 27 and 26, respectively. The couple is calling for a public hearing instead of a closed-door interview.
