Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie has been on a mission for months. He is leading the charge to release the Epstein files. He co-authored the Epstein Files Transparency Act, pushed for a House vote on a discharge petition, and even went straight to the DOJ to review those unredacted documents himself. This week, he promised to take things even further. If the DOJ keeps stonewalling, he says he will use the Constitution’s “speech or debate” immunity to read those sealed names out loud right on the House floor.
After Massie and California Congressman Ro Khanna spent two hours digging through the unredacted Epstein files at the Justice Department on February 9, things got intense. Massie saw at least six men’s names that had been blacked out, even though they seemed clearly “likely incriminated” in these documents. One of them was described as being “pretty high up in a foreign government.”
Speaking with CNN, Massie said he is ready to take action, but only if the victims say the word. “I’m ready to do that if the victims want me to,” he told CNN. In his view, the best shot at justice is to push the DOJ to release the names. Massie said he had already read one name out loud during a committee hearing with the FBI director in the room, Jeffrey Staley.
He made it clear he wasn’t calling Staley guilty. “He may or may not be guilty, but he’s been accused by these victims, the lawyer tells me,” Massie explained. He said there are other names out there, but he doesn’t have them right now. Still, he has told victims and their lawyers: if they give him the names, he is willing to read them on the House floor, protected by constitutional immunity.
Even so, what he really wants is for the DOJ to release the names themselves through the 302 forms.
Citizens Voice Doubt on Kentucky Massie’s Epstein Immunity Threat
The repeated claims quickly sparked skepticism online, with many users questioning whether anything would actually come of it this time. “I’ve heard this one before and still no list, perhaps it’s time to stop threatening and start doing,” one person wrote, reflecting the growing impatience.
Others pointed to a pattern of similar statements that never seem to lead anywhere. “I feel like I’ve seen three posts a week for the last six months where he’s threatened to release names and then he backs off and then comes back and says it again and then says he’s not suicidal five times,” a user commented. Another added, “If they are talking about it, they aren’t going to be about it.”
Some commenters dismissed the claims altogether, saying they would only believe it when there is real action. “Plenty have said it, none have done it. I’ll believe it when it’s done and not a second before,” one person wrote.
Others questioned the logic behind making public threats in the first place. “Like what’s the hope of threatening? Does he think they will just turn themselves in or something?” a comment read. Another concluded, “I believe Rep. Massie is all hat and no cattle,” while one more added, “Won’t take any of these kinds of claims seriously until I see people in cuffs.”
The Epstein files keep trickling out, and every time, it’s the same story: black lines cover what matters, answers stay hidden, and the big names never make it into the light. Now, Kentucky’s Thomas Massie is calling out the DOJ, giving them a deadline for answers. Will he actually stand up in the House and follow through? No one knows yet. But the survivors, the ones who have waited too long already, aren’t looking away.
