Redactions

[Jitendra Hydonus]

In the Epstein files

Redactions of tens of thousands of names and places in the files make it hard to decipher who may have played a role in enabling Epstein. What is left after Trumps redactions to the Epstein files is basically useless.

[Jitendra Hydonus]

Incredible: Thomas Massie to read the redacted names of Epstein's billionaires aloud on the House floor, and thanks to a constitutional loophole, nobody can stop him or sue him for it.

This is what a man with nothing left to lose looks like.

On Meet the Press this weekend, host Kristen Welker asked Massie whether he'd keep naming names connected to Epstein in the months ahead. His answer was yes.

Here's why he can. The Constitution's "speech or debate" clause gives members of Congress legal immunity for what they say on the floor. Massie can read redacted names out loud without fear of being sued or prosecuted.

He's already done it once, naming billionaire Leon Black, former Barclays CEO Jes Staley, and businessman Leslie Wexner back in February, along with six others he and Rep. Ro Khanna called "likely implicated."

And he's pointing the finger directly at Trump's own people.

Massie accused acting Attorney General Todd Blanche of "violating the law," saying millions of files remain hidden and the documents have been heavily over-redacted. He said convictions are impossible while Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel are in charge, because in his words they've "effectively both perjured themselves by saying there's nobody else in the files."

He even invoked the First Lady. "Even Melania doesn't believe that," Massie said. "The first lady knows that Jeffrey Epstein didn't act alone."

Remember how we got here.

Massie was central to forcing the Epstein files into the open, and Trump spent enormous money to destroy him in his primary, backing the challenger who beat him in the most expensive House primary in US history. The reward for transparency was a political execution.

It didn't work the way Trump hoped. Instead of a silenced critic, he created a Republican with seven months left, full legal immunity on the House floor, and a list of names the administration is desperate to keep buried.

Massie has a phrase for the people in charge now. He calls it "the Epstein administration."

The names are coming, and they can't stop him.