A pair of US lawmakers have threatened legal action against US Attorney General Pam Bondi, after her deadline to release all government files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was met only in part.
The release of the Department of Justice (DoJ) documents was highly anticipated, but in the end, only a portion of the available material was made public.
A leading campaigner on the issue, Republican congressman Thomas Massie, stated he could pursue contempt proceedings against the attorney general. The DoJ insists it complies with its legal obligations, while Bondi claims to be part of the most transparent administration in American history.
The phrase Epstein files refers to a trove of information amassed by the DoJ during two criminal investigations into Epstein. A law mandating the release of the full trove was signed by US President Donald Trump in November, spurred by pressure from supporters and prominent Republican figures. The deadline for the release of the material was recently met, although numerous redactions and withheld information caused anger among Massie, his allies, and survivors of Epstein's abuse.
Massie, speaking on CBS's Face the Nation, accused the DoJ of flouting the spirit and the letter of the law and proposed that the most expedient way to seek justice for victims was to bring contempt against Bondi, avoiding the need for court proceedings.
He noted that he and Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna are in the process of drafting the contempt action. Khanna emphasized the goal of building a bipartisan coalition and suggested imposing fines on Bondi for each day that she fails to release the documents.
Massie clarified that this contempt move would only require support from the House of Representatives, unlike impeachment which is more complex. Meanwhile, Bondi's deputy, Todd Blanche, dismissed the threats from Congress, expressing confidence that the DoJ is compliant in its duties.
Blanche explained that the release involved handling around a million pages of documents, most of which contain victim information. He assured that even if not everything was released at once, it still constitutes compliance with the statute.
While some lawmakers like Democratic Senator Tim Kaine believe contempt proceedings may be premature, Blanche disclosed that certain files released on Friday were temporarily taken down due to concerns from victims but confirmed that an image involving Trump was reinstated after review.
