Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) stated Sunday that there have been Democrats pushing for the discharge of recordsdata associated to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein since 2019.
In an interview on ABC Information’s “This Week,” Khanna pushed again on the suggestion that his occasion solely started calling for the paperwork to be launched not too long ago — now that the difficulty is politically fraught for President Trump.
“Why are Democrats immediately within the Epstein case?” ABC Information’s Jonathan Karl requested the California Democrat. “I imply, did you ask the Biden Justice Division to launch these recordsdata?”
“It is not a sudden curiosity. Truly, the previous chair, Elijah Cummings, had an investigation beginning in 2019,” Khanna stated, referring to the late civil rights activist and Maryland Democratic Home member, who chaired the Home Oversight and Reform Committee on the time.
“And I’ve tweeted out supporting that, again in 2019,” Khanna added. “We’ve been pushing for transparency. Through the Biden administration, each in 2021 and 2024, the courtroom ordered launch of paperwork.”
Khanna acknowledged the heightened scrutiny on the case in current months.
“However Donald Trump raised the stakes,” Khanna stated. “And he did it in a approach within the marketing campaign that was justified. He stated, look, after I get there, I will launch the recordsdata. Pam Bondi says there is a consumer checklist. Then she says, no, it’s only a file. She’s going to launch them.”
“I did not criticize them in any respect these first few months,” Khanna continued. “However after they refused to launch the recordsdata — after they stated there’s nothing extra to see — that’s after we stated transparency calls for the total launch of the recordsdata.”
Khanna has been a number one Democrat in Congress calling for Epstein recordsdata to be launched, and he’s co-sponsoring a invoice with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) that might drive the discharge of the recordsdata.