Rep. Ro Khanna thinks the Epstein files could help Democrats 'fight Trump effectively'

NBC News

2 days ago

CLEVELAND — Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who has been asserting himself as his party's leading voice for releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files, brought the noisy national fight to an unlikely audience Friday: a gathering of policy-oriented Democratic mayors.
Khanna acknowledged that it was a departure from his usual emphasis on economics.
'I'm less in the news for the new economic patriotism and more in the news for the Epstein files,' he said in his remarks at a Democratic Mayors Association conference at a skyscraping hotel overlooking Lake Erie. 'I'll tell you why it matters. It matters because before you can ask people to support government initiatives, you need people to trust government.'
Khanna's appearance here came at the end of a week in which the House broke for summer recess as Democrats repeatedly pushed the Epstein issue. He and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., joined to co-sponsor a measure that aims to force President Donald Trump's administration to publish 'all unclassified records' on Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender who died by suicide awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019. That resolution is expected to come up after the recess has ended.
Epstein counted Trump and other powerful people as friends before he was criminally charged, though the president long ago disavowed him. The case has exposed a rift between Trump and key figures in his MAGA movement who for years have demanded more transparency on Epstein and are upset that Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi have not provided it.
'People say, 'Well, why did you lead this fight on the Epstein files?' And to me, it's about trust in government and transparency,' Khanna said in an interview with NBC News. 'If you don't have trust and transparency, how are you going to get Medicare for all? How are you going to get a 21st century Marshall Plan? It's maybe the kryptonite that gets MAGA to unravel.'
Khanna's speech was also notable for its narrow focus on Vice President JD Vance, who was previously among the MAGA leaders pushing for the release of the Epstein files. Vance is a likely Republican presidential candidate in 2028, when Trump is term-limited. Khanna, meanwhile, has been open about his interest in seeking the Democratic nomination that year — and conspicuous in his attention to Vance.
'Because I'm in the vice president's hometown again, I thought I would remind him of some of the things he said,' said Khanna, briefly confusing Cleveland with Vance's downstate home base in Cincinnati before reading from some of the vice president's old social media posts about the Epstein case.
Vance, for example, had posted as a Senate candidate in December 2021: 'If you're a journalist and you're not asking questions about this case you should be ashamed of yourself. What purpose do you even serve? I'm sure there's a middle class teenager somewhere who could use some harassing right now but maybe try to do your job once in a while.'
Khanna shot back Friday: 'Maybe you should be doing your job now. You were passionate about this issue when you were asking people in this state for their votes. What happened?'
A spokesperson for the vice president declined to comment Friday on Khanna's remarks.
Vance has mentioned Epstein sparingly in recent weeks, with the White House tightening its grip over the messaging on what has become a thorny subject. In a post Thursday on X, Vance criticized The Wall Street Journal's recent coverage of Trump's relationship with Epstein.
Asked in the interview if he was attempting to position himself as Vance's strongest Democratic rival in 2028, Khanna did not answer directly. He instead argued that he and Vance have different views about what it means to be an American, pointing to Vance's recent speech at the conservative Claremont Institute. Vance asserted there that 'the modern left seems dedicated … to saying you don't belong in America unless you agree with progressive liberalism in 2025.'
Vance, Khanna said, is 'trying to articulate a more parochial vision of American identity. And I think that he's a real foil in my conception of American identity.'
Khanna also said he believes an Epstein-centric message helps Democrats — and him.
'I've never gotten this kind of Republican support on anything I have done before from the MAGA base,' Khanna said. 'There have been a lot of things that the Democrats have screamed our heads off about, but it's always just the Democrats. Sometimes it's the Democrats combined with establishment Republicans such as Liz Cheney or Mitt Romney or Paul Ryan.
'But it's never been the Democrats who are combined with the loudest voices in the MAGA world, and that is, I think, the key to not just fighting Trump, but fighting Trump effectively.'
Asked why he didn't call for more transparency around the Epstein files while President Joe Biden was president, Khanna pointed to a 2019 social media post in which he expressed support for congressional Democrats investigating the circumstances of Epstein's death.
Trump and his administration 'raised the stakes,' Khanna added, when he previously indicated support for releasing the files and when Bondi previously said an Epstein client list existed.
'It [was] when the Justice Department issued a memorandum saying there was no list or need to release more information that Massie and I thought legislation was needed,' he said.
Khanna marveled at how much attention the issue is driving for him now, especially since House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called for an early recess as his members complained about Democrats repeatedly offering Epstein-related amendments. Khanna said he and Massie are scheduled to appear together on two Sunday news programs this weekend, including NBC's 'Meet the Press.'
The congressmen have been friendly for years and agreed to work together on the resolution after Khanna's attempt to introduce an amendment to push for the files to be released.
Massie 'texted me right away and said, 'Ro, why don't we do this as bipartisan? Are you fine with that?'' Khanna recalled. 'And I said, 'That'd be great, but can we really make it work?''
That remains a question as House members go home to their districts for the summer recess. When they return to Washington in September, Massie and Khanna will work to secure the 218 signatures needed to file a so-called discharge petition and force a vote on their resolution.
Khanna said he is confident they will have the support they need. He also expressed little concern that partnering with Republicans, including hardcore MAGA supporters who on many other issues hold views that most Democrats find objectionable, will backfire on the party.
'I think there are two ways of fighting Trump and MAGA,' he said. 'One is the view, which has been our party's view for almost 10 years, which is they said we have to disassociate from them, condemn them, and not get our hands dirty and fight them all, and not try to listen to why there is anger or what their causes are. I have never taken that approach. I have taken the approach of respecting the voters who voted for Trump, and trying to understand where they're coming from, while being firm in my convictions.'
Such collaboration could be a tough sell. Khanna's Epstein-heavy speech to the Democratic mayors received polite applause but some puzzled reactions from a few attendees who privately wondered whether it was the appropriate venue for such a message.
No other speaker Friday dwelled as much on Epstein as Khanna did, though Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin briefly mentioned him in passing.
'It's also not our job to protect Donald Trump and his rich, excuse my language, asshole friends who are pals with Jeffrey Epstein, which seems to be a clear priority for Republicans right now,' Martin said in his remarks.
Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, a Democrat who also addressed the mayors Friday, said in an interview after his speech that he saw room for Epstein in the party's messaging.
'I think broadly, it's not necessarily about Jeffrey Epstein or Donald Trump. I think it's about transparency and accountability, and I think that's what voters expect from their elected officials,' Davis said. 'I think we can do multiple things at one time. I think we can talk about the affordability issues. I think we can talk about how we're going to make our economic situation better, while also holding government leaders in Washington accountable for the things that they've done.'