For years, nobody in Washington lifted a finger to release the Epstein files.
Biden's DOJ sat on them through his entire presidency.
Now two congressmen just discovered Trump's DOJ is protecting at least six powerful men whose names should be public – including a high-ranking foreign official and a retired CEO.
Massie And Khanna Found Six Men In Unredacted Epstein Files – Including Foreign Government Official
On Monday, the DOJ finally opened its doors to let members of Congress view what they called the "unredacted" Epstein files.
Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna – the two lawmakers who actually forced this release to happen – walked into that secure reading room expecting answers.
They got two hours to search through millions of documents.
No phones allowed, no staff, just four computers and handwritten notes.
What they found should alarm every American.
At least six men whose names have been blacked out are "likely incriminated by their inclusion in these files," according to Massie.
One is a high-ranking foreign government official.
Another is what Khanna called "a pretty prominent individual."
Massie even posted on X about a well-known retired CEO whose name the DOJ censored for no legitimate reason.
These aren't random people caught in a lineup – these are men with photographs in the files, listed alongside Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell as co-conspirators.
The DOJ concealed their names anyway.
Massie put it bluntly: "There is no reason in our legislation that allows them to redact the names of those men."
DOJ Epstein Files Still Redacted Despite Epstein Files Transparency Act
Here's the part that should make your blood boil.
Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act specifically to force the DOJ to release everything without improper redactions.
The law allows exactly two exceptions – protecting victim identities and safeguarding active criminal investigations.
That's it.
When Massie and Khanna sat down at those computers Monday, they expected to finally see what the DOJ has been hiding from the American people.
Instead, they found black boxes everywhere.
"There's still a lot that's redacted – even in what we're seeing, we're seeing redacted versions," Khanna told reporters outside the DOJ building.
The files arrived at the Justice Department already censored by the FBI and grand juries.
Career DOJ attorneys are now claiming they can't unredact what they received already blacked out – which completely violates the law Massie and Khanna wrote.
Their legislation explicitly required the FBI and original grand jury materials to be unredacted.
Khanna said he doesn't think the career attorneys reviewing the files are being "nefarious" – they're just working with documents that someone else censored before they ever arrived.
But that doesn't change the fact that powerful men are being protected while the law says they shouldn't be.
The DOJ is protecting elite predators while claiming they're just following procedure.
DOJ Redaction Errors Exposed Victim Names While Protecting Epstein Co-Conspirators
The survivors of Epstein's crimes have been begging for justice for decades.
What did they get from this DOJ document dump?
Their own names, addresses, and personal information published online for the world to see.
A Wall Street Journal investigation discovered 43 survivors had their full identities exposed – two dozen were minors when the abuse happened.
Some names appeared over 100 times in the files.
Home addresses showed up in basic keyword searches.
Brad Edwards and Brittany Henderson – attorneys representing 350 Epstein survivors – handed the DOJ a complete list of victim names on December 4 specifically so they could be protected.
The DOJ didn't even run a basic keyword search to verify their redaction process.
Edwards said there were "literally thousands of mistakes."
Meanwhile, the DOJ carefully protected the identities of wealthy men who flew to Epstein's island, attended his parties, and exchanged emails with a convicted pedophile.
One survivor told CNN the DOJ was "shielding predators."
Another said they "protected the Epstein class with blanket redactions."
Marina Lacerda – who was 14 when Epstein began abusing her – asked the obvious question: "Who are we trying to protect? Are we protecting survivors or are we protecting these elite men that need to be put out there?"
The answer couldn't be clearer.
Career DOJ bureaucrats are shielding powerful men while throwing survivors to the wolves.
Six Men Found In Two Hours – What's Hidden In 6 Million Epstein Documents
Massie and Khanna found six men likely incriminated in just 120 minutes.
Six names that should be public under the law.
Six powerful individuals being protected by DOJ redactions that have no legal justification.
And that's what two congressmen discovered in a fraction of the files with no staff, no phones, and only handwritten notes to work with.
The DOJ possesses more than six million Epstein-related documents.
They've only released three million – and heavily censored at that.
Massie pointed out that documents the DOJ briefly published and then pulled down aren't even available in the reading room for review.
Those files have been "wholly redacted" now, according to Massie.
They exist, the DOJ published them for a brief period, then yanked them back and won't explain why.
Khanna keeps asking the question Americans want answered: "Who were the rich and powerful people who went to this island? Did they rape underage girls? Did they know that underage girls were being paraded around?"
The files contain those answers.
Career DOJ attorneys just won't let anyone see them.
Khanna pointed to what's happening in Britain right now – where Prince Andrew and former Labour politician Peter Mandelson are facing public accountability for their Epstein connections.
The British government didn't protect them.
Here in America, career Justice Department bureaucrats are actively covering for wealthy predators while claiming they're just following protocol.
Massie said he's giving the DOJ "a chance to go back through and correct their mistakes."
But if they don't?
Massie and Khanna have options – including reading those six names on the House floor, where they'd be protected from civil or criminal liability under the Speech and Debate Clause.
The survivors have waited decades for accountability.
They've been ignored, disbelieved, and silenced while the men who abused them or enabled that abuse lived consequence-free lives.
Now career DOJ bureaucrats are protecting those same men while exposing the victims.
That's not justice – that's a cover-up.
Sources:
- Alex Wong, "Massie, Khanna View Epstein Files at DOJ," Getty Images, February 9, 2026.
- Alexei Koseff, "Bay Area congressman who viewed unredacted Epstein files says at least 6 men are implicated," San Francisco Chronicle, February 9, 2026.
- Alex Griffing, "Massie Says Epstein Files Reveal At Least 6 More 'Likely Incriminated' Men," Mediaite, February 9, 2026.
- Evan McMorris-Santoro and Jasmine Wright, "Khanna and Massie Say They Found the Names of Six Potential Epstein Co-Conspirators," NOTUS, February 9, 2026.
- Julianne McShane, "Even inside the DOJ's secure room, some Epstein files remain redacted," MS NOW, February 9, 2026.
- Staff, "Epstein Files Redacted to Protect 'Prominent' People, Lawmakers Allege," TIME, February 9, 2026.
- Staff, "Thomas Massie, Ro Khanna suggest powerful men are being protected by over-redactions in Epstein files," CNN Politics, February 9, 2026.