Attorney General Pam Bondi torched Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), accusing him of “Trump Derangement Syndrome” after he grilled her over the release of the Epstein files, and a single corrected mistake by her Department of Justice.
Massie pressed her on why victims’ names were released while Les Wexner’s was redacted a single time as an alleged co-conspirator. The confrontation comes despite Massie’s decision to align with a Democrat to push for the release of the Epstein files, backing legislation critics say was so poorly drafted it was destined to fuel confusion and dissatisfaction, even as it was praised by Massie and others as a bold push for transparency from the Trump administration.
"To my right is an email that was sent by the victim's lawyers to the DOJ. It was a list of names not to redact, or sorry, a list of names not to release," Massie began. "What did the DOJ do with this email? They released this email in the document production. Literally the worst thing you could do to the survivors, you did. And they're getting phone calls. A lot of these people didn't want to be known. And we know you touched the document because you redacted one name and you redacted the lawyer's name, but you left the survivor's name there."
The next document I want to show you, that was in the title, the victim's survivor's names. The title of this one is Child Sex Trafficking, Co-Conspirators, fully redacted. And by the way, I'm gonna redact them here. Les Wexner is in this. Now, your Deputy Attorney General said, 'Oh, well, he appears hundreds of times in the files.' But he doesn't appear in this file until I forced you to release it, where he's listed as a co-conspirator, not to tax evasion, but to child sex trafficking, not to prostitution, not to money laundering, child sex trafficking.
And then finally, what we have here, the third exhibit that I have is emblematic of the FD302 release. These are the documents that we need that you're holding onto and over-redacting because they have the names of the men who are implicated. How do we know? Because the survivors gave testimony to the FBI, and it's in there. And what happens when you go to the FBI or you go to the portal at the DOJ to look at what's behind this redaction? Another redaction. So we can't even see them. And then there's some of these files you've pulled down from the website that we will never see because we can't search the redactions.
"So I have several questions for you," Massie said finally. "Who's responsible? Are you able to track who in your organization that made this massive failure and released the victims' names? Are you able to track who it was that obscured Les Wexner's name as a co-conspirator in an FBI document? Do you have that kind of accountability?"
"I believe Wexner's name was listed more than 4,000 times about," Bondi replied before she was swiftly interrupted.
"Yeah, I already told you that. This is where he's listed as a co-conspirator."
"Can I finish my answer? Come on, let me finish my answer. We corrected that within 40 minutes. He was already, you're acting like everybody's trying to cover up Wexner's name."
"Reclaiming my time."
"I'm gonna answer this question."
"Reclaiming my time, Mr. Chairman."
"This isn't how this works.
"Can I have my time back? Mr. Chairman."
"Can I give my answer?"
"So, I'm gonna put the language of the bill up on the screen."
"Chairman, may I give my answer on that?" Bondi asked. "This is a political joke and I need to give my answer on that."
"Within 40 minutes, you asked me a question. Within 40 minutes, Wexner's name was added back," she said.
"Within 40 minutes of me catching you red-handed," Massie said.
"Red-handed? There was one redaction out of over 4,700."
"Where he's listed as a co-conspirator!"
"This guy has Trump Derangement Syndrome," Bondi fired back. "He needs to... you're a failed politician. You need to get on the matter."
NEW: Sparks fly as AG Pam Bondi says Rep. Thomas Massie has 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' as he tears into her for redacted names in the Epstein files.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 11, 2026
Massie ripped off a piece of paper to show that Les Wexner was listed as a co-conspirator for child s*x trafficking.
Bondi:… pic.twitter.com/p9a1GIRlJO
This comes as Rep. Massie has grown increasingly critical of the Trump administration, breaking with Republicans on multiple high-profile votes. Notably, despite his vocal concern over the Epstein files, Massie was one of just two lawmakers to vote against the “Take It Down Act,” legislation aimed at criminalizing the publication of nonconsensual sexually explicit images and videos, including AI-generated deepfakes. Massie dismissed the bill as a “slippery slope, ripe for abuse, with unintended consequences.”
In the end, even Rep. Thomas Massie’s so-called “Epstein Transparency Act” stopped short of the full openness it promised. The bill’s language explicitly allowed the DOJ to withhold or redact names deemed sensitive for national security or privacy reasons, virtually ensuring that speculation and conspiracy theories would persist, despite its branding as a sweeping transparency measure.
Massie’s continued opposition to President Trump’s agenda has prompted the president to encourage a primary challenge, throwing his support behind Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL and fifth-generation Kentucky farmer, who now leads Massie in the Republican primary.