Republican Thomas Massie More than a year after Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the scandal he has tried to push out of the headlines is still growing. The law required the attorney general to make Epstein records public within 30 days, yet only about half the files have been released, with lawmakers accusing the Justice Department of withholding millions more. The missing files are becoming a bipartisan revolt Republican Thomas Massie and Democrats including Ro Khanna say the Justice Department is still violating the transparency law through withheld records and excessive redactions. Attorney General Todd Blanche insists the department has complied, saying the unreleased material consists of duplicates, privileged information, statutory exceptions and records unrelated to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. That defence has done little to stop the pressure — including from Trump’s own political base. Massie puts powerful names in the spotlight Earlier this week, Massie named more than a dozen people he said were “Epstein coconspirators who should be investigated and prosecuted”. The list included Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Les Wexner, Leon Black, Jes Staley, David Copperfield, Lapo Elkann, Tom Pritzker and Glenn Dubin. It also included Frédéric Fekkai, Eduardo Teodorani, Ramsey Elkholy and Lesley Groff. Two others named by Massie are dead: French modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, who died in a French jail in 2022 while awaiting trial on sexual assault charges, and modelling industry figure Daniel Siad, who was found dead near Paris in July. Leon Black now risks a clash with Congress Billionaire Leon Black, co-founder of Apollo Global Management, was due to appear before a House panel for a second round of questioning on Thursday. He has refused, arguing that the committee and its chair have exceeded their authority, raising the prospect of a contempt of Congress fight. At the same time, Massie is collecting the 218 signatures needed to force a House vote on H.R. 9694, the Epstein Files Transparency Act II, introduced with Khanna and Democrat Teresa Leger Fernández. The proposed law would make hiding records harder The legislation would allow survivors, state prosecutors and members of Congress to sue the attorney general over records they believe were unlawfully withheld, redacted, delayed or concealed. Lawmakers could demand full access to covered records, with the attorney general given just seven days to comply or face a court challenge. For Trump, the problem is no longer simply Epstein’s crimes. It is the growing suspicion over what remains hidden — and why. As Watergate showed, the cover-up can become the scandal that refuses to die. The Epstein coverup Trump can't stop | Opinion
