Massie says Trump’s Epstein investigation might be 'a big smokescreen'

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) dismissed the Justice Department’s investigation into the late Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to notable Democrats as “a last-ditch effort to prevent the release of the Epstein files.”

"If they have ongoing investigations in certain areas, those documents can't be released," Massie told ABC's Jonathan Karl on "This Week" on Sunday. "So, this might be a big smokescreen, these investigations, to open a bunch of them to, as a last-ditch effort to prevent the release of the Epstein files.

President Donald Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi and the FBI to look into Epstein's relationship with former President Bill Clinton and other Democrats, writing on social media: "This is another Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, with all arrows pointing to the Democrats." Bondi on Friday promised to pursue the investigation "with urgency and integrity to deliver answers to the American people" after assigning Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton to lead the probe.

The announcement came just days after the House Oversight Committee released tens of thousands of emails handed over by the Epstein estate. The emails, documenting Epstein's vast network of friends and associates and spanning over a decade, include several direct references to Trump, Clinton and other prominent individuals in media, politics and Hollywood.

Massie's effort along with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to force the Trump administration to release its files on the convicted sex offender overcame a critical hurdle Wednesday when newly sworn-in Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) signed on to a discharge petition for the House to vote on his bill despite the objections of Speaker Mike Johnson.

While just three of Massie's Republican colleagues signed on to the discharge petition, Massie said on "This Week" that he hopes to secure a veto-proof majority on his legislation, which would require a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate. He said he anticipates "a deluge of Republicans" — perhaps even more than a hundred — to support the bill.

The House is expected to hold a Tuesday vote on the bill, after which it will require Senate approval if it passes the House. Massie urged Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a fellow Republican, to "do the right thing" and bring the legislation up for a vote in the Senate.

"Not only the speaker, but the attorney general, the FBI director, and the president himself, and the vice president, they're taking a big loss this week, because after months of fighting, I am winning this week with Ro Khanna," he said. "We're forcing this vote, and it's going to happen."