Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Friday accused two congressmen of revealing the names of “completely random people” in relation to the Justice Department’s (DOJ) investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) have been at the forefront of a bipartisan push to release all of the files related to the DOJ probe into Epstein.
The department recently granted access to lawmakers who wished to view the unredacted files. The DOJ has said it made heavy redactions to ensure victim privacy.
A day after viewing the complete files, Khanna said in a floor speech that one document included redactions for “six wealthy, powerful men” and claimed that the DOJ concealed their identities “for no apparent reason.” The Justice Department revealed the six names in the document after a joint appeal from Khanna and Massie.
Blanche said on the social platform X on Friday that the lawmakers “forced the unmasking of completely random people selected years ago for an FBI lineup- men and women.”
