Thomas Massie Issues Warning To DOJ, FBI If Epstein Files Aren’t Released

Um, you know, the the speaker has decided that there should be a new class of victims that are protected.

He thinks that the the rich men who flew on the jets to the rape island should be protected against unfounded [snorts] accusations, but that here's the problem.

uh the there are guilty men that his provisions that he wants would protect that have never been investigated that there are credible allegations of sexual abuse and rape against and so the Senate would be fools to start trying to change his bill in the way that Speaker Johnson wants it changed.

>> And why do you think the speaker changed his vote ultimately or changed his tune I should say and then voted accordingly?

two reasons, but they kind of go back to the same reason. Number one, Trump told him to do it, and this speaker of the house is always going to do whatever President Trump wants. Number two, they both, I think, came to the conclusion that Trump was asking my colleagues to walk a plank that was going to cost them the majority.

Um, and then that it would be no good for the president or our speaker in that instance. So, I think it was a political calculation.

>> Can you just explain though? I mean the the whiplash that we're seeing here from going from this bill looking like it had no chance now passing overwhelmingly and potentially being law by the end of the night.

Have I done an interview with you when you when you've said surely you know this must be dead on arrival in the Senate or something. But uh no, it it has gone from presumably dead on arrival, presumably getting vetoed to now getting fasttracked and having a nearly unanimous majority here in the House.

And I I think it's because uh three brave women, Lauren Boowbert, Nancy Mason, and Marjorie Taylor Green couldn't be flipped. I think all along they were hoping they could flip those women into taking their names off of the petition, and they never could.

And it's a concern about the political fallout of the GOP which caused the speaker to change his mind. You think?

>> Absolutely. The president was pitting the GOP conference against our own base.

Look, 80% of Republicans wanted these files released and the other 20% just didn't care.

There was literally nobody who said not to release these files.

And so, and it was also a campaign promise.

I think the calculation ultimately for the speaker and the president was a political calculation.

They realized this could jeopardize the majority if they took the side, literally the side of pedophiles and rapists.

>> And what if they don't release the files now?

>> You know, >> because they could say it's an investigation that's ongoing.

>> Today, they decided to pull the band-aid off.

I hope they continue that effort in the Senate and in the White House.

We will know when the Epstein files are released because men will go to prison and um until that happens these the the justice hasn't been served.

I know through the victim's lawyers there are at least 20 credible accusations of of rape and sex trafficking that have been relayed to the FBI and they've done nothing about it and it resides in their 302 files.

The White House has announced a bunch of partisan investigations.

I think that's a bad idea. This was never a partisan issue. And and I think it's another bad idea if I'm not sure their motivations, but if that was to create silos of of uh information that can't be released based on these investigations, but even if they start 10 investigations, there's no way they're going to cover up the crimes that have been perpetrated on a thousand victims. So names of rich and powerful men will get released when the president signs this bill.

And if and they are criminally uh liable at the DOJ and FBI if they don't release these files. This is a law.

This it's a steep effort, right?

Not just to do a discharge petition and get it passed through the House, but to get the Senate to pass it and get the White House to sign it. We're not there yet, but when we get there, this is not a subpoena.

This is a law. And so you are confident that these documents will ultimately come out even if the president tries to fight this.

>> Yes, I'm confident. And that we we sort of uh we know when they're out because we know what some of these list some who some of the men are. I don't have the names in my head right now. Um the the ultimate thing that we could do is read the names on the floor of the house and uh that [snorts] could happen, but what needs to happen is the FBI needs to release these names. Is that something you might do if he resists us?

If the DOJ released this, could you go to the floor and read these names?

>> We've uh we absolutely would do that.

Marjorie would do that. I would do that.

There are Democrats who would do that.

And um but that's not the right path forward.

That's a that's the last effort if we hit all of the walls. But so far, we're making it through the walls and over the walls and we're getting this done.

And how much time are you willing to give the president and the administration to release these documents when this becomes law?

>> I've never set a timeline.

The victims have waited a very long time to get justice.

Uh and it's really up to them.

>> Okay. All right. I mean, thank you.

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