Ro Khanna Threatens Impeachment, DOJ Restores Trump Photo After Backlash

Photo: House Oversight Committee.

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) is escalating calls to hold senior Justice Department officials accountable, including through impeachment, after the incomplete release of Jeffrey Epstein files and the brief disappearance of key records from the department’s website.

At least 16 Epstein related files vanished from the Justice Department’s public webpage as of December 21, including a photograph that featured two separate images of President Donald Trump. After public backlash, the department restored the photo, along with some other missing files, stating that it had redacted it to protect victims.

The photo, first posted Friday and then removed, showed items found on or inside Epstein’s desk or credenza. One image showed Trump with a group of women, while another was a well-known photograph of Trump with his wife, Melania, Epstein, and Epstein’s now convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, NBC News said.

Khanna, who has led congressional efforts to force disclosure of Epstein related records, said the Justice Department’s handling of the release could rise to the level of impeachable conduct. He said Congress is actively discussing impeachment and inherent contempt proceedings against Attorney General Pam Bondi and other officials.

“Congress is talking about possible impeachment,” Khanna told CNN. “They’re talking about inherent contempt for the attorney general or deputy attorney general.”

Khanna and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) authored the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the Trump administration to release all unclassified Epstein related documents. While the Justice Department released thousands of pages, Khanna said the disclosure fell far short of what the law required.

Speaking to CBS News, Khanna said the problem was not delays but substance, calling the partial release “a slap in the face of survivors.” The Associated Press reported that the limited disclosure drew condemnation from lawmakers across the political spectrum.

Massie said on CBS’s Face the Nation that the most effective way to compel compliance would be for the House to invoke inherent contempt against Bondi, a move that could result in daily fines until the remaining files are released.