We must be well into the Salem witch trial phase of the Epstein file mania. Representatives Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna are deep into it. They “wrote” the Epstein Files Transparency Act. You may have heard that Khanna read a list of six names on the House floor last week while asserting that they were “wealthy, powerful men that the DoJ hid” in the files recently released pursuant to the act.
Following up with the Department of Justice, Britain’s Guardian was advised by a spokesman for Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche that four of the six had no apparent connection to Epstein whatsoever, but rather appeared in a photo lineup assembled for investigative purposes by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
“Rep Ro Khanna and Rep Thomas Massie forced the unmasking of completely random people selected years ago for an FBI lineup – men and women. These individuals have NOTHING to do with Epstein or Maxwell,” the spokesperson told the Guardian.
…He then apologized when the names included men who were not, as claimed, "likely incriminated" but may have had no connection to Epstein…https://t.co/czUUVuA5ck …
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) February 14, 2026
But it wasn’t Khanna’s fault! Good to know.
…He then blamed the DOJ for not making that clear to him before he made his chest-thumping reveal. At least Madam DeFarge had knitting to show after her accusations. pic.twitter.com/Q6GXbE6hgO
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) February 14, 2026
The Guardian story by Jacqueline Sweet has much more in the way of yammering and finger-pointing. We are living in a deeply unserious time that portends a rude awakening.
JOHN adds: This illustrates why raw investigative files are not generally made public: there is all kinds of–to put it bluntly–crap in them. Innocent people are likely to be hurt. (Bill Gates may be another such victim.) The Epstein Files Transparency Act was a terrible idea, and all the senators and congressmen who voted for it–just about all of them, as I recall–should be ashamed of themselves.
