GOP Rep Accuses Trump of Protecting His “Friends” in Epstein Cover-Up

Republicans are once again stepping up their criticism of the Trump administration over its handling of the Epstein files.

Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie attacked FBI Director Kash Patel this weekend after surprising him with information he supposedly knew.

Massie wrote on X: “I told Director Kash Patel that the FBI has the names of 20 men for whom Jeffrey Epstein trafficked women and girls. This was surprising to him. Why?”

“Is the FBI withholding these names to protect the president’s wealthy and powerful friends?” Massie continued, before demanding the administration “release the Epstein files.”

Massie is pushing for the release of more documents related to the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased child trafficker and molester, who had ties to wealthy and powerful figures, including President Donald Trump.

“I think Trump is trying to protect his rich and powerful friends, and that’s why these documents aren’t being released,” Massie told CNN last week.

Even Patel fiercely defended the full release of the Epstein files, even before he officially took over the Trump administration. Months before Patel was even tapped to lead the bureau, he told podcaster Penny Johnson that he believed the documents were being withheld from the public because of the “person on the list.” During his confirmation hearing, the 45-year-old vowed he would “leave no stone unturned” to achieve full transparency on the Epstein files.

But everything changed during a heated House hearing on Wednesday, when junior members forced the bureau chief to confront the contradictions between his past positions and recent actions.

Representative Jamie Raskin said: “This spring, you ordered hundreds of agents to thoroughly review all of Epstein’s files, but without searching for further evidence regarding the financial network or the human trafficking network. You took these agents away from their usual counterterrorism or drug trafficking duties to work around the clock, some sleeping at their desks, and conduct frantic searches to ensure that Donald Trump’s name and image were flagged and removed wherever they appeared.”

Raskin then highlighted a July FBI memo in which Patel and Attorney General Pam Bondi concluded that “no further disclosure would be made” regarding the Epstein files and that an FBI investigation “would be necessary or appropriate.”