Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, has expressed strong criticism towards the Justice Department, accusing it of significantly failing to meet its legal responsibilities regarding the release of the complete Jeffrey Epstein files. As a prominent advocate for the law compelling the Trump administration to disclose these documents, Massie’s frustration was palpable on Friday.

On social media, Massie directed his remarks at U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and her chief deputy, Todd Blanche, asserting that their handling of the document release undermines the very law that President Trump had signed into effect merely a month earlier.

“The document release orchestrated by @AGPamBondi and @DAGToddBlanche today is a blatant violation of both the spirit and the letter of the law,” Massie declared on X, highlighting the inadequacy of the DOJ’s compliance with the newly enacted legislation.

This sentiment was echoed by Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California and the principal sponsor of the Epstein transparency law, who had criticized the Justice Department’s excessive use of redactions just prior to Massie’s statement. Khanna pointed out that one document, in particular, comprising 119 pages of Grand Jury testimony, was entirely redacted, raising questions about the transparency of the DOJ’s actions.

“One document, 119 pages of Grand Jury testimony, was completely redacted,” Khanna said.

“@RepRoKhanna is correct,” Massie wrote in response.

Khanna and Massie had joined forces on legislation to release the full Epstein files, which was initially opposed by Trump and his Republican allies in Congress. That changed over the summer, when the pair brought a number of alleged victims of the late sex offender to Capitol Hill, where they pressed GOP leaders to stage a vote on the legislation. 

It didn’t work initially. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) refused those entreaties, saying the better strategy for investigating Epstein’s associates was through the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is conducting its own probe. 

The tipping point came in November, after the government shutdown, when Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) was sworn in to replace her late father and immediately signed a discharge petition to force the Khanna bill to the floor. 

Faced with that inevitability, Johnson and other Republicans lined up behind the legislation, and Senate Republicans quickly followed suit. Trump signed the bill into law on Nov. 19, starting a 30-day clock for the DOJ to release all the files. 

Friday marked that deadline, but the DOJ said it couldn’t release all the documents because officials simply didn’t have time to sift through the thousands of pages to ensure that the names of Epstein’s victims and other innocent people weren’t released. They unveiled thousands of documents, with promises to deliver more in the coming weeks. 

Khanna has partially accepted the delay, acknowledging the sheer volume of documents. But he also wants Bondi and Blanche to make a public statement to explain what they’ve released already and lay out a timeline for what’s to come. 

“My concern is whether they are releasing the documents in good faith, even if it’s piecemeal, or whether this is just more of the old documents being put out and a coverup,” Khanna told reporters Friday, shortly after the DOJ release. 

“I don’t know whether there is new information or whether it’s stonewalling. But that to me is the biggest issue in terms of the quality of the release, more than just the quantity,” he added. “I’ll talk to Thomas Massie — we certainly have all options on the table. But what we want is the fundamental information of who else was involved in the abuse and coverup.”