Republican Representative Thomas Massie has stirred controversy by referring to the Trump administration as the “Epstein administration,” while criticizing Attorney General Pam Bondi for not releasing all the documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier accused of sexual crimes.

The congressman from Kentucky made this striking statement during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” thereby intensifying the ongoing conflict between former President Trump and congressional members who are pushing for increased transparency regarding the Epstein documents.

In his remarks, Massie openly criticized the Department of Justice, accusing it of not fulfilling the transparency that Donald Trump had pledged during his presidency.

“Donald Trump assured us that despite his social interactions with these individuals in New York City and West Palm Beach, he would maintain transparency, yet he has not,” Massie stated.

He continued, “He remains aligned with the Epstein circle. This is the Epstein administration.”

Massie’s pointed critique, coming from a fellow Republican, underscores a growing rift within the GOP over the management of the Epstein files. What was once a low-key disagreement has now erupted into a significant internal conflict.

The Kentucky Republican went further, suggesting that entrenched wealth and political influence were working against efforts to expose the truth.

‘There are billionaires that are friends with these people, and that’s what I’m up against in D.C.,’ Massie said.

The stunning remarks continued a bitter confrontation between Massie and the Trump administration – one fueled by mounting anger over delays, redactions, and access restrictions surrounding the Epstein files.

Earlier on Sunday Bondi faced criticism for publishing a list of 305 celebrities and politicians who were mentioned in the Epstein files at least once. This included famous faces such as Princess Diana, Kamala Harris, Lisa Marie Presley and Bey Being named on the list does not assume any guilt or wrongdoing. 

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie publicly labeled Donald Trump’s presidency the ‘Epstein administration’ during an interview on ABC’s This Week on Sunday morning 

Last week, Attorney General Pam Bondi defended the Justice Department’s handling of the Epstein files telling lawmakers, ‘You sit here and you attack the president and I’m not going to have it.’

The disgraced pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and then-real estate developer Donald Trump are seen posing together at the Mar-a-Lago estate, Palm Beach, Florida in 1997

The Epstein files have had a cataclysmic impact on society – forcing top-tier businessmen and academics to resign from their posts, triggering high-profile marriages to break, and signaling the downfall of dignitaries like Britain’s Prince Andrew – who was stripped of his royal titles in the collateral damage.

The names, from politicians like the Obamas to singers like Bruce Springsteen, appear in a ‘wide variety of contexts,’ Bondi and her deputy, Todd Blanche, noted.  

Being named in the Epstein files does not assume any guilt or wrongdoing connected to Epstein’s heinous child sex crimes.   

Massie has emerged as one of the most persistent critics of the Justice Department’s handling of the case, helping lead a rare bipartisan discharge petition alongside Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna that forced the government to release its Epstein-related evidence.

The measure ultimately passed Congress and was signed into law by Trump – but only after widespread pressure from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

Despite that victory, Massie and other lawmakers say key information remains inaccessible.

‘They took down some of the most significant documents, two of them involving Virginia Giuffre’s case,’ Massie said during the ABC interview. 

‘We want to be able to look at all these files. They can’t keep those documents down after they’ve already produced them.’ 

Bondi accused critics of using the Epstein files to attack Trump politically. Bondi told Massie he was suffering from ‘Trump derangement syndrome’

Massie accused the Trump administration of failing to follow through on promises of transparency regarding the Epstein files

Massie held up stapled pieces of paper with an FBI document, parts of which were redacted, while questioning Bondi during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of the DOJ

Massie’s rebellion has not come without consequences. His opposition to Trump and his leadership role in forcing the file releases have turned him into a political target inside his own party.

Trump has openly vowed to support a primary challenger against Massie, escalating the feud and signaling that loyalty on the Epstein issue has become a defining test within Republican ranks.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department has maintained that its investigation uncovered no criminal wrongdoing by powerful individuals beyond Epstein and Maxwell. But that  conclusion has done little to quell suspicions among lawmakers demanding full disclosure.

The DOJ, for its part, has insisted it has released all relevant files from its investigation into Epstein, the billionaire financier who was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal child sex trafficking charges. His death was officially ruled a suicide.

Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate, was later convicted and remains imprisoned in the United States.

But lawmakers who have reviewed the unredacted materials have raised disturbing concerns about the contents and the extent of redactions in the public versions.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, blasted the Justice Department’s approach.

Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin accused the Justice Department of releasing Epstein documents ‘filled with redactions of names and information,’ warning that key details about potential co-conspirators had been withheld

Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein are seen raising their hands after Rep. Dan Goldman asked who of them has been unable to meet with the DOJ Attorney General Pam Bondi

‘We didn’t want to see any redactions of the names of co-conspirators, accomplices, enablers, abusers, rapists, simply to spare them potential embarrassment, political sensitivity or disgrace of some kind,’ Raskin said.

He said the released documents were ‘filled with redactions of names and information about people who clearly are not victims and may fall into that other category.’

Trump himself has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. 

However, his past friendship with Epstein and references to his name in investigative materials have fueled persistent political scrutiny and public debate.

The controversy reached a boiling point last week during a combative House Judiciary Committee hearing, where Attorney General Pam Bondi fiercely defended Trump and the Justice Department amid a barrage of criticism.

‘You sit here and you attack the president and I’m not going to have it,’ Bondi told lawmakers. ‘I am not going to put up with it.’

Bondi repeatedly clashed with Democrats and critics, accusing them of weaponizing the Epstein case for political gain and insisting that her department had acted appropriately.

She also confronted Massie directly, accusing him of political opportunism.

Bondi told him he was suffering from ‘Trump derangement syndrome,’ and dismissed his criticism as politically motivated.

The hearing, marked by shouting, accusations, and bitter exchanges, underscored how deeply the Epstein case has become entangled in partisan warfare – and how Bondi has positioned herself as one of Trump’s most aggressive defenders.