Massie, Refusing To Back Down in Epstein Fight, Calls on Lutnick To Resign Ahead of Testimony From Maxwell and Bondi

The author of the bill to force the disclosure of the Epstein files, Congressman Thomas Massie, is not backing down in his fight to ensure all documents are released despite threats from the president and his allies. Mr. Massie is now calling on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to resign for his own relationship with Jeffrey Epstein just days before Epstein’s associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Attorney General Pam Bondi are scheduled to testify before Congress. Mr. Massie and his Democratic counterpart, Congressman Ro Khanna, forced their Epstein Files Transparency Act to the House floor late last year. Just one lawmaker voted against the bill, after which the Senate passed the legislation unanimously before President Trump signed it. Messrs. Massie and Khanna have for weeks been putting pressure on the DOJ to release all of the files, which has not yet happened despite the law’s requirement that they be released in December. The two House members have gone so far as to threaten Ms. Bondi with an inherent contempt resolution in the House, which could see her personally fined for every day she refuses to comply with the law. On Sunday, Mr. Massie took aim at another Trump cabinet member, Mr. Lutnick, who is featured prominently in the most recent release of the Epstein files. Mr. Lutnick — who for years was nextdoor neighbors with Epstein — was emailing with the convicted pedophile long after he claimed to have ceased communication. One email in the files shows that Mr. Lutnick and his wife planned to visit Epstein’s island in the Caribbean in 2012 — seven years after Mr. Lutnick claimed to have cut Epstein out of his life. During an interview with CNN’s “Inside Politics” on Sunday, Mr. Massie said Mr. Trump would be served well by Mr. Lutnick’s departure. Messrs. Trump and Lutnick have been friends for decades. “He should just resign,” Mr. Massie said when asked if Mr. Lutnick should testify before Congress about his relationship with Epstein. “I mean, there are three people in Great Britain that have resigned [from] politics — the ambassador from Great Britain to the United States, [and] the prince lost his title for less than what we’ve seen Howard Lutnick lie about.” The third person to which Mr. Massie is likely referring is Prime Minister Starmer’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, who resigned from his post on Sunday due to the fallout from the Epstein scandal. Of Mr. Lutnick, Mr. Massie says the ties are too damning to ignore. “Howard Lutnick clearly went to the island, if we believe what’s in these files. He was in business with Jeffrey Epstein, and this was many years after Jeffrey Epstein was convicted … for sexual crimes,” Mr. Massie said. “He should make life easier on the president, frankly, and just resign.” Mr. Lutnick has denied any wrongdoing with respect to his ties to Epstein. Mr. Massie’s crusade in the Epstein files saga is heating up as Maxwell and Ms. Bondi prepare for their own testimonies to two congressional committees. Maxwell, who has been convicted on sex trafficking charges, will testify virtually before the House Oversight Committee on Monday. The deposition will take place behind closed doors. In a letter shared on X Sunday, Mr. Khanna writes to the committee’s chairman that Ms. Maxwell will still be questioned despite her lawyer’s declaration that she will invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during the deposition. “This position appears inconsistent with Ms. Maxwell’s prior conduct, as she did not invoke the Fifth Amendment when she previously met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to discuss substantially similar subject matter,” Mr. Khanna writes. The California congressman, who has laid the groundwork for a possible 2028 White House run, says he will ask about Maxwell’s relationship with Mr. Trump, as well as the scope of Epstein’s sex trafficking operation. Just two days later, Ms. Bondi will appear for public testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, of which Mr. Massie is a member. During his CNN interview Sunday, Mr. Massie said he has plenty of questions for the attorney general. “She’s been all over the map. She has no credibility,” Mr. Massie said. “She’s said, you know, ‘There’s a ton of files, they’re on my desk, I’m gonna release them,’ and then she said, ‘There’s nothing by child sexual abuse material and nobody wants to see that.’”

Massie, Refusing To Back Down in Epstein Fight, Calls on Lutnick To Resign Ahead of Testimony From Maxwell and Bondi

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