During an interview on this Sunday's Face the Nation while discussing the Department of Justice refusing to comply with the law on releasing the Epstein files, Representatives Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna discussed what their options are to force compliance from Bondi and Blanche.
Massie first explained how he knew they were not in compliance:
MARGARET BRENNAN: So you're saying specific things regarding the indictment. Congressman Massie, I saw in a video that you posted, you had a very specific benchmark of success here. You said, you know there are at least 20 men accused of sex crimes known to the FBI. How do you know that number? And do you know those names?
REP. MASSIE: Yeah, the survivors' lawyers have told me those numbers, and they've described their professions and in general, but they've only given me one of those names, and I mentioned that in a congressional hearing, Jess Staley. So I searched these documents, I didn't see Jess Staley's name, nor did I see 19 other names. And here's why we shouldn't be optimistic that Blanche or Bondi are going to release these things. They sent a six page memo to Congress and said- they cited pre-existing laws as reasons that they weren't going to follow our law. For instance, our law requires them to release information regardless of embarrassment, but they are trying to say that a previous law prevails when it doesn't. Common sense says it doesn't, the Privacy Act doesn't protect them from that. And then also, as Ro said, internal communications those they're using a FOIA standard that doesn't apply because our law already says they have to give us internal communications.
MARGARET BRENNAN: In terms of the gentleman there you referenced as accused. I mean being in the document doesn't necessarily prove criminal behavior right? In terms of the redactions, what the Deputy Attorney General said is that they were abiding by your law, and also a judge in New York had ordered them to listen to victims. So they're claiming that information that they had initially even published Friday they had to pull down because they were trying to protect victims. You aren't- you don't sound convinced that they are abiding by, you know, this intent?
REP. MASSIE: No, they are not abiding. And all three judges who released the grand jury material said that our law trumps the prior law. That's just common sense. Law school 101. Yet Todd Blanche is using a different theory that wouldn't survive first contact with any court, which is he's trying to say that prior laws override our law. That's not the way this works.
Which was followed by both Reps explaining what's next for Bondi.
MARGARET BRENNAN : Okay, what are you going to do about it, to force them to comply? I mean, can you do anything?
REP. MASSIE: Oh, absolutely. Look, people have talked about- and by the way, Todd Blanche is the face of this, but it's really the Attorney General's Office, Pam Bondi, who is responsible. And there are several ways to get at this. Some take longer. Some are shorter. The quickest way, and I think most expeditious way, to get justice for these victims is to bring inherent contempt against Pam Bondi, and that doesn't require going through the courts and give her and, and- basically Ro Khanna and I are talking about and drafting that right now.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay, well, I mean, on another network this morning, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine said, impeachment or contempt, it is premature, Congressman Khanna. And the Deputy Attorney General said, "bring it on." They don't seem to be taking this very seriously. And if you just don't have the math in the Senate, including, at least now this Democratic senator not being convinced, doesn't that sort of show that you're at the limit of pressure?
REP. KHANNA: No, we only need the House for inherent contempt, and we're building a bipartisan coalition, and it would fine Pam Bondi for every day that she's not releasing these documents.
They managed to get the votes for the release of the files. Whether they'll actually hold Bondi responsible for not complying remains to be seen.
