U.S. Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA), who aligned with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) to collect the required 218 signatures on the discharge petition which pushed the House to vote on and pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act — which President Trump eventually signed — reminded everyone on the House floor Thursday that the Department of Justice must release the Epstein files by Friday, December 19, before midnight.
Khanna said: “Three federal judges have ordered the release of all of these files in Maxwell and Epstein’s grand jury.”
He warned: “Any Justice Department official who does not comply with this law will be subject to prosecution for obstruction of justice.”
He added, “If Pam Bondi does not comply with the law she will held in either inherent contempt on Congress or subject to impeachment.”
Pam Bondi must release the files by midnight tomorrow.
— Rep. Ro Khanna (@RepRoKhanna) December 18, 2025
If not, I lay out the consequences. pic.twitter.com/MRIB437bHP
Note: Inherent contempt is when Congress punishes individuals who obstruct its legislative duties including defying subpoenas.
In March 2024, President Trump’s Director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy during his first term, Peter Navarro, became the first former White House official to be imprisoned for a contempt of Congress criminal conviction for refusing to comply with a subpoena issued by the House Select Committee that investigated the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump’s former White House chief strategist, Steve Bannon, was the second, also for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the same Committee.
