Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) delivered a blunt warning Tuesday, saying that Department of Justice officials who obstruct the release of the Epstein files could be criminally prosecuted by a future administration.
Speaking on CNN’s “The Source,” Khanna reacted to the DOJ blowing past a congressional deadline to release documents related to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Host Elex Michaelson pressed Khanna on accountability, asking whether there would be consequences for ignoring the law Congress passed requiring disclosure.
Khanna made clear his frustration wasn’t about timing—it was about what he sees as deliberate obstruction.
“I’m less concerned about the timeline,” Khanna said. “I’m more concerned that they’re not releasing the key documents. If they were acting in good faith—putting out survivor statements, prosecution memos—then they could say, ‘It’s a huge file, we need time.’ But this doesn’t take a lot of time. What I’m talking about, they’re just not releasing.”
Khanna said Congress is actively weighing several escalation options.
One of them is inherent contempt, a rarely used congressional enforcement mechanism. Under that approach, Khanna said Attorney General Pam Bondi could be held personally and financially liable after 30 days if the House votes to proceed.
“Massie and I are already talking about inherent contempt,” Khanna said. “That means after 30 days, Bondi would be personally liable financially every day. And it just takes the House to pass that.”
Khanna also said lawmakers are considering intervening with the Southern District of New York, pushing for the appointment of a special master to independently review the Epstein-related documents and determine what should be released.
Impeachment, he added, is not off the table.
But Khanna’s strongest warning came at the end.
“I just want to remind folks,” he said, “that every person at Justice who violates this law is guilty of obstruction of justice—and a future administration could prosecute them.”
The comments mark one of the clearest public threats yet from a sitting Democrat toward DOJ officials over the long-running Epstein controversy, underscoring growing bipartisan frustration over what many see as continued stonewalling in one of the most sensitive criminal cases in modern history.
