Rep. Thomas Massie was the first and so far only Republican to spar with Attorney General Pam Bondi during her hearing Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee.
The Kentucky lawmaker asked Bondi about redactions in the Jeffrey Epstein files that failed to comply with the law Massie helped shepherd to passage last year. He pointed to instances where the names of victims are not shielded but the name of Les Wexner, a businessman and client of the convicted sex offender, is blacked out.
“Who’s responsible?” Massie asked. “Are you able to track who in the organization made this massive failure and released the victims’ names?”
Bondi replied that Massie, who has become a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, a “failed politician” and a “hypocrite.”
“Within 40 minutes, Wexner’s name was added back in,” Bondi said.
“Within 40 minutes of me catching you red handed,” Massie responded.
Bondi then accused Massie of having “Trump derangement syndrome” and refusing to press for justice for Epstein’s victims during previous administrations.
“This is bigger than Watergate,” Massie told Bondi. “This cover-up spans decades, and you are responsible for this portion of it.”
Wexner has said he severed ties with Epstein in the aughts, around the time of an earlier investigation against the late financier and when Wexner realized that Epstein has illicitly taken money from him.
“The Assistant U.S. Attorney told Mr. Wexner’s legal counsel in 2019 that Mr. Wexner was being viewed as source of information about Epstein and was not a target in any respect,” a legal representative for Wexner said in a recent statement. “Mr. Wexner cooperated fully by providing background information on Epstein and was never contacted again.”
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