‘More People Will Be Implicated’: Ro Khanna on the Fallout From His Epstein Files Bill, and What Comes Next

Representative Ro Khanna helped force one of the most sweeping disclosures of investigative records in modern American history when Congress passed the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act last year, compelling the Justice Department to release millions of documents tied to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 

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Khanna, a California Democrat, introduced the bill in the House last summer alongside Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican. President Donald Trump signed the bill in November.

The release has already triggered a wave of fallout across politics, business, and international institutions, with prominent figures around the world resigning or facing investigations—developments Khanna describes as the beginning of a long-awaited “moral reckoning” for what he calls an “Epstein class” of powerful people who believed themselves beyond accountability.

Yet even as more than three million pages have been made public, major questions remain about what the public has not seen. Lawmakers and journalists have identified millions of additional documents still withheld or heavily redacted, including missing FBI interview summaries connected to allegations involving President Donald Trump. “I have no idea on the merits, but I do believe that the problem is the cover up,” Khanna says. “Why are they hiding these documents?” The Justice Department has said materials may have been excluded because of privilege, duplication or ongoing investigations, while critics argue the omissions may violate the transparency law’s requirement that records not be withheld for political sensitivity or reputational harm.

TIME spoke with Khanna on Friday about the fallout of the document release, why he believes the most consequential evidence remains hidden, and what Congress and the courts could do next to force additional disclosures.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

TIME: Here’s a sample of the fallout we’ve seen so far since the release of the Epstein files: a member of the royal family was arrested; the president of the World Economic Forum resigned; a former Prime Minister of Norway was criminally charged; several business leaders and academics resigned. Are you surprised that the files have had an impact across so many countries and industries?

Khanna: You probably could even expand your list. I had to ask someone on my team and [Congressman Thomas] Massie’s team to compile the list of rich and powerful people in the United States and around the world that are being held accountable. There are dozens. And there are dozens more who need to be held accountable, and in some cases, investigated and prosecuted. I have always said: if these files are released, it will be a moral reckoning for the nation, and half of the worst stuff still hasn’t been released. 

 This is the first time in modern American history that the global elite are being held accountable. We had no elite accountability for the bankers who caused the Great Recession. We had no accountability for the people who lied us into the war in Iraq. Finally, we’re seeing some sense of accountability for people who thought they were above the law.

Do you expect more people will be implicated as you continue searching through these files?

Yes, I believe more people will be implicated in terms of having known about Jeffrey Epstein’s pedophilia and turned a blind eye, and still having engaged in business relationships with him. I believe some others will be exposed as having raped these young girls and trafficked these young girls. The problem is, though, we need the documents that have not been released to be released. The most central right now are the three documents the FBI and DOJ have covered up with the woman’s allegation against Donald Trump that he sexually assaulted her when she was a minor. I have no idea on the merits, but I do believe that the problem is the cover up. Why are they hiding these documents?

Based on what Congress has been told and what you’ve personally reviewed, how much of the documents have we not yet seen? How much is missing?

About half… Half the documents these survivors have made—statements to the FBI, 302 forms, haven’t been released. About half of them have not been released. That’s what [Deputy Attorney General Todd] Blanche has said, that there are about 3 million or so documents that haven’t been released. And of the documents that have been released, there are too many redactions on them, and even the members of Congress are seeing documents that already had blanked out, redactions from the FBI from March. So the worst stuff, I believe, is still hidden.

Have you gotten any response from the DOJ as to why those specific documents aren’t available?

They just hide behind privilege, and they claim that they are protecting survivors. But they’ve protected the predators, and they are not complying with the law. This means someone could bring a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York to force compliance with the laws. That could be a next step.

What else can Congress do to force the DOJ to release the missing files?

There’s legal action we can take. We can take action in the Southern District of New York to require the release. Survivors can sue to require the release under the Epstein Transparency Act. When [Democrats] are back in the majority, we can subpoena people at the Justice Department and FBI’s whistleblowers to see if we can get some of these documents. And we need to bring in front of our committee those people who are in the files [who] have been emailing about going to the island or the ranch and ask them, under oath, what they knew about sexual abuse, what they saw, and to hold the Epstein class accountable.

Does Congress need a second phase of legislation to close the loopholes in the Epstein Files Transparency Act? Would you change anything in the bill?

Well, they’re not loopholes. They’re just blatantly violating the law. We’re saying you have to release all of the FBI documents, and they aren’t doing all of that. We could pass a second law to be even more explicit, but they may just violate that second law. I guess what we could add in there is a clear punitive clause that that violation would mean that the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General and the FBI Director are liable. Maybe there’s additional punitive teeth we can put on it, but if they’re violating the Epstein Transparency Act, they’ll violate another one in Congress. Really we need the judicial system to enforce it and require them to comply with the law.

What has been revealed in the files about Epstein’s relationship with President Trump?

He had an extensive one, and that they had an extensive friendship. And they spent a fair amount of time together. And that there are also, of course, allegations against President Trump by at least one woman. What we need is transparency. I don’t judge the merits of any of this. But what we need is President Trump to come before Congress and testify under oath like President Clinton. What we need is a real investigation into all of the Epstein class, into the people who knew Epstein and participated in the network. 

How concerning was it to you that reporters revealed the files regarding allegations against Trump were missing, and not the DOJ?

It’s the cover up more than even the files that are the issue. Why is it that those files are missing? Why was that not flagged for Congress by the law? And I believe more discrepancies are going to come out. That millions of documents as reporters are digging through these files and more rich and powerful people who are going to be exposed as having been part of this Epstein class, transnational elite, who basically flew from place to place and thought they were above the law, and they either trafficked in women, either abused underage girls, or still felt comfortable being part of Jeffrey Epstein’s network knowing that he was abusing and raping girls.

This is arguably one of the biggest scandals in American history and it is being exposed. They’re the most powerful people. I mean, two presidents are all over these files, the most powerful people in Wall Street, in Hollywood, in Silicon Valley, the most powerful world leaders are part of these files. And it is a reckoning of needing a new moral direction. 

We need to hold the people in the Epstein class accountable. We need to affirm again that no one is above the law. We need to make sure that we have justice for survivors. And we need a new generation leading in this country and perhaps around the world, a generation that is not tainted by the moral corruption that existed at the heart of Epstein’s network.