Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said he isn’t optimistic the House Oversight Committee will get the answers it needs from Attorney General Pam Bondi, after the panel voted to subpoena her over the Justice Department’s handling of records related to Jeffrey Epstein.
Khanna told “Morning Joe” co-host Willie Geist he believes Bondi will cooperate with the subpoena, which will require her to testify behind closed doors. However, he said he is “not confident that we’ll get answers.”
“Her modus operandi has been to come there and insult members of Congress,” he said, referencing Bondi’s fiery testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee earlier this month.
“This Epstein cover-up is not about politics,” the California Democrat continued, noting that five Republicans joined all Democrats to pass the subpoena. “It’s about a broken Donald Trump promise.”
While the Justice Department has released millions of documents related to its investigation into the late convicted sex offender, millions more remain hidden, in violation of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
“People are upset,” Khanna said. “They’re upset that rich and powerful people raped or abused these young girls, and that half of the files are hidden.”
Among those hidden files, the congressman said, are survivors’ statements to the FBI, “where they named the rich and powerful men who may have abused them,” witness interviews and more documents related to an allegation from one woman who said she was raped as a minor by President Donald Trump. (He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.)
“I have no idea whether that allegation is true or not, but here is what I do know: they released one of the FBI interviews with this woman. They have not released still, three other witness interviews of this woman, and they have provided no explanation for why they haven’t done that in blatant violation of the law,” Khanna added.
Khanna predicted the coalition pushing for transparency and accountability would only “continue to grow more powerful” and said it’s put “a crack in the MAGA base.”
“You talk about a rigged system. You talk about ordinary Americans being upset that the government isn’t working for them,” he said. “The Epstein matter is Exhibit One.”
You can watch Khanna’s full interview on “Morning Joe” in the clip at the top of the page.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW. She was previously a segment producer for “AYMAN” and “The Mehdi Hasan Show.”