GOP Rep. Massie says he wants more from Epstein estate than his reported ‘birthday book’

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie said Sunday he stands with Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna’s calls to subpoena Jeffrey Epstein’s estate for documents related to his case, including, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, a birthday letter to Epstein allegedly written by President Donald Trump in 2003.

“Well, I think we should get a lot more than just the book. Let’s get the financial records of the estate. Where is it — follow the money, as they say up here,” Massie told ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl. “We should look at the plea bargain. Open that up. See what was the deal? What was the deal that was cut? I think there’s a lot more than just that letter.”

The Wall Street Journal reported on a birthday message Trump allegedly wrote in a book of messages for Epstein’s 50th birthday — the president denies it exists and has sued the Journal for defamation over the report. ABC News has not been able to confirm the existence of the letter.

Massie and Khanna’s joint legislation would force a House vote on the release of the Epstein files in the Justice Department’s possession. However, Speaker Mike Johnson sent the House out for August recess a day early, effectively skirting efforts to release more files. Massie and Khanna are seeking a discharge petition, which with 218 votes from House members would bypass Johnson.

“It would force a full release of the files. It has the force of law, “Massie said on “This Week.” “It’s not a subpoena. It’s not a ‘Pretty please, would you release the files?’ It’s the force of law and, it’s got protections to redact victims’ names and to prevent, you know, release of child pornography.”

Khanna added the Democratic interest in this case is not new, despite claims that the party has latched on to the case as it causes infighting among some of Trump’s MAGA base.

“We have been pushing for transparency during the Biden administration, both in 2021 and 2024 the court ordered release of documents, but Donald Trump raised the stakes and he did it in a way in the campaign that was justified. He said, ‘Look, when I get there, I’m going to release the files,'” Khanna said.

Here are more highlights from Massie and Khanna’s interview:

Khanna on potential clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell

Karl: Congressman Khanna, we had this rather extraordinary visit to Florida, of Todd Blanche to meet with Ghislaine Maxwell. Do you agree with those who say that she should testify? Wanting her to testify before Congress?

Khanna: I do. I have skepticism, given she was indicted of perjury, given she has a motive for getting a pardon. Again, love that Todd Blanche was meeting with her, allegedly, one-on-one. But I’m for all the evidence coming out. It’s important, though, that this is not something that is anti-President Trump. This is for transparency. I’m less concerned about his mentions. I’m much more concerned about the hundreds of people who were powerful and rich, who had impunity, and I’m concerned about restoring justice for the victims. He promised to expose this. I think the American people don’t think he’s a perfect person. They thought he was going to expose a system that wasn’t working for them, and that’s really what this is about.

[Editor’s note: Perjury charges against Maxwell were dropped after she was convicted of sex trafficking.]

Massie on criticism from Speaker Johnson

Karl: So, how do you respond to that? And he’s making — yes, he’s asking a variation of the question I asked Congressman Khanna. He’s like, you know, “Why didn’t you try to do this four years ago?”

Massie: Well, like Khanna said, you know, I’ve got evidence of tweets where I’ve been asking for these things before. The question is why isn’t Mike Johnson having this vote? Why did he send us home early? And he talks about political pain for Republicans, as if by invoking transparency and inflicting pain, that should be very telling. What is painful about having this vote? I’ll tell you what’s politically going to be a liability is if we don’t vote on this and we go into the midterms and everybody becomes, you know, they just check out because Republicans didn’t keep their promise, and Donald Trump. We’ll lose the majority. By the way, they’re also running $1.8 million of ads against me, Republicans are.

Massie on Trump possibly protecting friends in the files

Karl: Yes, and — and what is going on in the administration on this, Congressman Massie? I mean, they — they devoted — we talked earlier — about 1,000 FBI, DOJ personnel, DOJ personnel working on this, all this talk of releasing it and then suddenly the president’s out referring to it as a hoax and saying nobody cares.

Massie: Well, I don’t think it’s a hoax at all. It’s emblematic of the promise that President Trump brought with him to the White House, how he energized so many people who had checked out of the political system. He was going to be the guy who holds all the rich and powerful and politically connected people accountable, and that’s why there’s so much disappointment right now. I don’t think the president himself is particularly implicated in these files. You know, there have been some theories that that’s the case. But I do think he has friends who may be embarrassed by the release of these files. And the release of these files may not implicate them. It may just be embarrassment. But for some reason he’s decided to do a 180 on this.