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TRANSPARENCY DELAYED

Updated: 2 days ago

In July 2025, Rep. Nick Langworthy (NY-23), who has never voted independently of his caucus, voted against releasing the Epstein files, the vast store of depositions, grand jury transcripts, photographs, recordings, and other documents related to late serial sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. (https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/nicholas_langworthy/456927)


Donald Trump shared a long post on Truth Social just days earlier to urge his followers to stop focusing on Epstein:

“What’s going on with my “boys” and, in some cases, “gals”? They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and “selfish people” are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies. Jeffrey Epstein. For years, it’s Epstein, over and over again. Why are we giving publicity to files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the losers and criminals of the Biden administration, who conned the world with the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax, 51 ‘intelligence’ agents, ‘THE LAPTOP FROM HELL,’ and more? They created the Epstein Files, just like they created the FAKE Hillary Clinton/Christopher Steele Dossier that they used on me, and now my so-called ‘friends’ are playing right into their hands … Let’s keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.”

Langworthy’s office, through a spokesperson, said, “He voted no because it was a pointless political gimmick, not a path to justice.”


He voted against bringing the Epstein Transparency Act to the floor for a vote again in September.


Rep. Langworthy was in a small minority on this issue. According to a PBS/NPR/Marist poll in October, 77% of Americans thought the Trump administration should release all of the Epstein files. This included 67% of Republicans.


Why did Nick Langworthy vote to block the release of the Epstein files despite overwhelming public support?


In September, Republican Rep Thomas Massie filed a discharge petition in support of the bill. In early November, four Republicans joined 214 Democrats in signing a discharge petition, which forced a House vote on the Epstein Transparency Act.

Finally, when it was going to pass overwhelmingly anyway, Nick Langworthy and Claudia Tenney voted for the bill.


Rep. Langworthy issued this statement after the vote in November,

“As I have said all along, I stand for full justice for all of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims and today’s vote marks another step toward accountability for his heinous criminal operation. Jeffrey Epstein and those who aided him were depraved predators who preyed on young women’s vulnerability. While the investigations led by the House Oversight Committee and the Department of Justice continue, ensuring the utmost care for survivors and transparency for the American public will continue to be my top priority. Today’s near-unanimous vote sends a clear message that the sexual abuse and exploitation of minors will not go unpunished.” 

Attorney General Pam Bondi’s Department of Justice is actually in violation of the Epstein Transparency Act, which required that everything be released by December 19th. The releases so far have been haphazard. Documents have been released, then retracted. Some redactions can be bypassed with a simple cut and paste exercise.


Molly Jong-Fast wrote in the New York Times that “The contents have clearly been selectively released by the Department of Justice, a lot of it highly redacted, revealing little but stirring up much.” Republican Rep Thomas Massie (KY) has appeared on the weekend talk shows critiquing the Justice Department for their violation of the law, suggesting that Bondi be charged with “inherent contempt.”


As the Washington Post, the New York Times, PBS, and most major news outlets have reported, the second document release, just before Christmas, included hundreds of mentions of the current President, some of which addressed the President’s relationship to the famous pedophile, some of them profoundly disturbing, including complaints to the FBI about Trump.


Additionally, an assistant U.S. attorney from the Southern District of New York said in an email that flight records the office received on Jan. 6, 2020, showed that Trump was on Epstein's jet "many more times than previously has been reported (or that we were aware)." On one flight, the manifest shows that only Epstein, Trump and a 20 year-old woman whose name was redacted were onboard. For context, according to Reuters, Trump said in a TruthSocial post in 2024 that he "was never on Epstein’s Plane, or at his ‘stupid’ Island."


Rep. Langworthy and Rep. Tenney are hardly alone among Trump loyalists in their lackluster response to nature and content of the latest document release: they have said absolutely nothing.


Sources:

“Major Release of Epstein Documents Contains Mentions of Trump and Mar-a-Lago Subpoenas.” The New York Times. December 23, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/12/23/us/epstein-files-trump

“Most Americans want the Epstein files released, poll finds.” PBS NewsHour, October 2, 2025. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/most-americans-want-the-epstein-files-released-poll-finds

Heath, Brad, et al. “Trump flew on Epstein jet eight times in the '90s, according to prosecutor email.” Reuters. December 23, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-justice-department-releases-new-tranche-epstein-files-2025-12-23/

Jong-Fast, Molly. “The Epstein Files Should Not Have Been Released This Way.” The New York Times, December 24, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/24/opinion/epstein-file-release-truth.html

Sheridan, Johan. “New York congressmember defends voting not to release Epstein files.” WTEN News. https://www.news10.com/news/ny-news/new-york-congressmember-defends-voting-not-to-release-epstein-files/

Trump, Donald. [@realDonaldTrump] “What’s going on with my “boys” and, in some cases, “gals”?” TruthSocial.com https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114842356238631061

 
 
 

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