Ro Khanna asks, 'Why Trump keeps Epstein files secret if he’s not named'

Ro Khanna said that every time the government withholds documents, it only fuels suspicion
PUBLISHED DEC 23, 2025
Democratic Rep Ro Khanna asks what is being hidden in the Epstein files (@msnow/youtube)
Democratic Rep Ro Khanna asks what is being hidden in the Epstein files (@msnow/youtube)

WASHINGTON, DC: As questions swirl around the newly released Epstein files, Democrats are pressing President Donald Trump over why key records remain secret if, as reports suggest, he is not named in them.

Speaking during a recent appearance on MSNOW, Congressman Ro Khanna said that every time the government withholds documents, it only fuels suspicion and leaves the public asking who is being protected.

Democratic Rep Ro Khanna asks what is being hidden in the Epstein files

In a viral clip from a recent MSNOW discussion, the ‘Morning Joe’ host raised a pointed question while speaking with Democratic Rep Ro Khanna and other guests, including MSNOW contributor Pablo Terro. 

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 03: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) speaks during a news conference with 10 of the alleged victims of disgraced financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein outside the U.S. Capitol on September 03, 2025 in Washington, DC. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA ) have introduced the Epstein List Transparency Act to force the federal government to release all unclassified records from the cases of Epstein and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) speaks during a news conference with 10 alleged victims of disgraced financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein outside the US Capitol on September 03, 2025, in Washington, DC, (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The host said, "And a lot of other people is we've had reporting for some time. Donald Trump is not on Epstein's list. There's nothing in there that's really damning about Donald Trump and as Susie Wild says, not damning about Donald Trump or, Bill Clinton." 

He then asked, "So one of the great mysteries all along in this, not been like, what's Donald Trump hiding? What did he do,  It's like, why, if he's not in these files, which all the reporting says he's not. Why is he so obsessed on blocking access to the files? Is he trying to protect somebody?"

Khanna agreed, telling the host that, "Joe, you got to the actual heart of the question, and it's actually not been reported."

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 11: U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) speaks to reporters following a series of votes at the U.S. Capitol on March 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. The House passed a bill to avert a Friday government shutdown by a 217-213 vote largely along party lines. The bill now moves to the Senate where it will need help from Democrats to move it past a filibuster. Massie was the sole Republican member who opposed the legislation. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
US Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) speaks to reporters following a series of votes at the US Capitol on March 11, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Why aren't they releasing the FBI interviews, asks Ro Khanna

Khanna explained that even some Republicans, including Marjorie Taylor Greene, believed Trump was not involved and urged him to release the documents anyway. He said, "One of the reasons Marjorie Taylor Greene got on board with Massey and my effort is she fundamentally believed that Trump was not implicated, and she would call the president and say, look, just get these out. I don't know why you're not getting it out, and he would tell Massey and me, of course he's going to come around."

He added, "And every press conference we had, we never made it about Donald Trump. We made it about the survivors. The survivors pleaded with Donald Trump, you can be a hero. No previous president has done this. Release the files. And what people are asking, and frankly, even I'm asking is what are they hiding?"

Khanna also questioned, "Why is it that they're not releasing the draft 60 count indictment when they only charge. Epstein with two counts. Why aren't they releasing the 82 page prosecution memo of all the implications he had with rich and powerful folks? Why are they protecting this Epstein class and why aren't they releasing the FBI interviews? Every time they do one of these things of concealing, they're just raising further further doubt."

Epstein case highlights gap between elites and the public, says Pablo Terro

(@msnow/youtube)
Epstein case highlights gap between elites and the public, says Pablo Terro (@msnow/youtube)

During the MSNOW discussion, contributor Pablo Terro said, "Silicon Valley, which is the area you represent, as well as the Epstein files and the Epstein class, is that there just never has felt like so big a gap between what the elites, a network of people want you to know and what's actually happening in this country, and I'm just wondering if this, if the Epstein story to you is just clearly, clearly the thing that reconfigures in a bipartisan way."

Terro suggested that the Epstein case highlights this divide more clearly than anything else and may be driving rare bipartisan cooperation. He pointed to the unusual alliance of Ro Khanna, Thomas Massie, and Marjorie Taylor Greene as an example of lawmakers crossing party lines in ways rarely seen before.

"What has been one aisle versus another because this is deliberately you and Thomas Massey and Marjorie Taylor Green and a bunch of people getting together in ways that we have not seen before.”"

He ended by asking, "Is this the thing that you think reconfigures American politics, to be very blunt about it?”

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