Overview
- Rep. Ro Khanna said a redacted 2016 email to Jeffrey Epstein was from a political figure and should be disclosed under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
- The email, dated February 3, 2016, bragged about getting more votes than Jeb Bush in the Iowa caucuses, referenced having one congressional district, and described scuba diving near Epstein’s island.
- Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche publicly accused Khanna of trying to release a victim’s personal information and urged him to take down his post.
- An X community note disputed Blanche’s characterization and identified the sender as Gwendolyn Beck, a 2014 congressional candidate and Epstein associate, though DOJ has not verified the identity.
- Khanna and Rep. Thomas Massie, co-sponsors of the transparency law, previously pressed DOJ to lift other redactions, and some names—such as Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem—have since been unredacted.