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On Aug. 31, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., finally delivered on his threat to read the names of the late convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged accomplices on the House floor. Massie has long pushed for the release of the Epstein files, backing the Epstein Transparency Act alongside Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., which President Donald Trump signed into law last year. But the Justice Department has dragged its feet in releasing the documents, and what has been disclosed so far has been heavily redacted — except for some cases where victims’ names were exposed — and is apparently not complete.
“The government continues to withhold over three million files,” Massie said. “That’s why we’ve introduced the Epstein Files Transparency Act II, to bring the fight to the state courts, accountability to the Department of Justice and closure for survivors. We want perpetrators of these crimes to be investigated and prosecuted.”
Massie named 14 people as Epstein’s co-conspirators: banker and former Barclays CEO Jes Staley; private equity investor Leon Black; billionaire retail mogul Les Wexner, whose L Brands conglomerate included stores such as Victoria’s Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch; magician David Copperfield; Italian businessman Lapo Elkann; billionaire businessman Tom Pritzker; hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin; celebrity hair stylist and entrepreneur Frédéric Fekkai; former corporate executive Eduardo Teodorani-Fabbri; the late French model agent Jean-Luc Brunel; the late Swedish model scout Daniel Siad; former New York City modeling agent Ramsey Elkholy; Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, whose royal titles were stripped by his brother King Charles III; and Lesley Groff, who served as Epstein’s longtime executive assistant.
Many of these names were already known to be in the files, and we should be clear that there is no explicit evidence that those individuals have committed crimes. None of them have admitted to wrongdoing. Nonetheless, many have wondered why these people are not being investigated or prosecuted, and whether Massie forgot to name some other prominent people. But aside from his professed aim to “shame the Department of Justice into delivering justice,” the congressman is trying to force a vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act II, which would give standing to victims of Epstein and his alleged co-conspirators, state attorneys general and members of Congress to challenge the department in court. According to Massie, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., could “soon recess the House until after the midterm elections… to avoid the vote?!”
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Meanwhile, a totally different corner of the internet is abuzz about the upcoming November release of “Grand Theft Auto VI,” a video game roughly 12 years in the making with an estimated $2 billion production budget, making it one of the biggest entertainment releases of the year, if not the decade. But publisher Rockstar Games’ unpopular decision to only release digital copies of the game instead of physical discs, has angered some, including an individual or group known as CyberLeek, who began leaking clips of the game online.
Whether or not it’s fair to compare Take-Two’s investigation of a leaked video game with the DOJ fumbling inquiries into participants of a global sex trafficking ring, the internet has certainly taken notice.
Rockstar said the leaks were “heartbreaking for our team.” Its parent company, Take-Two Interactive, immediately launched a thorough investigation, filing multiple subpoena requests in federal district court seeking information on the leakers from Microsoft, Discord, X and YouTube. On Monday, Take-Two said its probe was “rapidly evolving,” which leads us to the unfortunate conclusion that the “GTA VI” leaks are seemingly being investigated more thoroughly than the Epstein files.
This obviously isn’t a one-to-one comparison and involve different sides of the DOJ. It goes without saying that a company aggressively protecting its IP is hardly something new, and leaking copyrighted material is a far less serious issue than sex crimes. Perhaps that’s precisely the point. Whether or not it’s fair to compare Take-Two’s investigation of a leaked video game with the DOJ fumbling inquiries into participants of a global sex trafficking ring, the internet has certainly taken notice of this discrepancy.
Attorney General Todd Blanche not only warned Trump his name was in the Epstein files, he also determined some time ago that “nothing in the files warranted further investigation or prosecution,” according to a Wall Street Journal investigation last year. That still seems to be Blanche’s stance, to the horror of Epstein’s surviving victims.
Massie lost his primary in May to a Trump-backed candidate and it may be difficult to for him to get the signatures he needs before his tenure in Congress ends. On Wednesday, Massie encouraged Republicans to sign it and use releasing more Epstein files as a selling point in the midterms. That seems unlikely, which means: We may still have to wait for the inevitable leak.
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