Khanna names six high profile individuals appearing in unredacted Epstein files
On the House floor today, congressman Ro Khanna named the six high profile men that are included in the unredacted version of the documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein.
Khanna named, US businessman Leslie Wexner of Victoria’s Secret, Abercrombie & Fitch and Bath & Body Works fame; Emirati businessman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem; and Salvatore Nuara, Zurab Mikeladze, Leonic Leonov, and Nicola Caputo.
“If we found six men that they were hiding in two hours, imagine how many men they are covering up for in those three million files,” Khanna said. “Why are they protecting these rich and powerful men? People I call part of the ‘Epstein class’. Why are we in a country where there is no elite accountability for people who do the most heinous things?”
A reminder that this week, the California Democrat went to the Department of Justice with Thomas Massie, a Republican congressman who co-led the Epstein Files Transparency Act effort, to view the unredacted files. The justice department made their most recent release of documents available for members of Congress to view in-person. On Monday, Khanna and Massie the pair had to do “some digging” before finding the new names, they told reporters.
Key events
Richard Luscombe
Today, Chuck Schumer held a press conference with a small group of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims to announce a law that seeks to eliminate the statute of limitations for certain sexual offenses.
“The bill exists because people refuse to accept silence as the end of the story. It’s that simple,” Schumer, the Democratic Senate minority leader, said.
Schumer said the bill was named in honor of Virginia Giuffre, one of the most vocal Epstein survivors who died by suicide in April 2025.
“Justice should not expire, because for survivors healing does not run on a government clock,” he said. “For years, survivors of Epstein’s abuse were ignored … Even when the world finally listened, too many survivors were still told by the law, ‘It’s too late, your justice has expired.’
“Virginia’s law changes that.”
Several of Giuffre’s relatives were emotional as they spoke at the event in the US Capitol. Her brother, Sky Roberts, was asked about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the disgraced former British royal photographed with Giuffre and Epstein’s fixer, Ghislaine Maxwell, in a now infamous image.
“He should show up in front of our Congress and answer questions,” Roberts said. Mountbatten-Windsor has been accused of “hiding” from a congressional request for testimony.
Khanna names six high profile individuals appearing in unredacted Epstein files
On the House floor today, congressman Ro Khanna named the six high profile men that are included in the unredacted version of the documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein.
Khanna named, US businessman Leslie Wexner of Victoria’s Secret, Abercrombie & Fitch and Bath & Body Works fame; Emirati businessman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem; and Salvatore Nuara, Zurab Mikeladze, Leonic Leonov, and Nicola Caputo.
“If we found six men that they were hiding in two hours, imagine how many men they are covering up for in those three million files,” Khanna said. “Why are they protecting these rich and powerful men? People I call part of the ‘Epstein class’. Why are we in a country where there is no elite accountability for people who do the most heinous things?”
A reminder that this week, the California Democrat went to the Department of Justice with Thomas Massie, a Republican congressman who co-led the Epstein Files Transparency Act effort, to view the unredacted files. The justice department made their most recent release of documents available for members of Congress to view in-person. On Monday, Khanna and Massie the pair had to do “some digging” before finding the new names, they told reporters.
Democratic congresswoman probes acting ICE director: ‘Do you think you’re going to hell?’
In a particularly heated exchange between LaMonica McIver and Todd Lyons. The Democratic congresswoman asked the acting ICE director if he was a “particularly religious man”. After Lyons said he was, McIver went further.
“How do you think judgment day will work for you with so much blood on your hands?” she asked Lyons, who refused to “entertain” the question.
She then said: “Do you think you’re going to hell, Mr Lyons?”
The committee’s Republican chair Andrew Garbarino quickly interjected and asked McIver to suspend her line of questioning. “While oversight is important, aggressively attacking those witnesses personally is inappropriate,” he said.
New York Democrat Dan Goldman asks what guidance ICE agents have been given about asking people on American streets to show proof of citizenship.
Todd Lyons says ICE “conducts targeted, intelligence-driven operations. We don’t walk around the streets asking people about their American citizenship.”
Goldman asks if that means all the American citizens who have been randomly asked are lying.
Lyons concedes that if ICE are conducting an investigation they’ll ask someone their nationality (which … isn’t the same thing).
Goldman makes the point that that, by definition, isn’t “targeted”, because “they’re asking all sorts of American citizens, including off-duty law enforcement officers.”
Seth Magaziner then makes a broader point, which I think is worth posting in full.
There has been no accountability in your agency under the Trump administration – none.
Your agency has repeatedly been caught on tape using unnecessary violence against civilians and you can’t even tell me if any of these agents have been investigated and disciplined.
You’re supposed to be making people safer and instead your agents are being unnecessarily violent, and that is why the Trump administration has lost the trust of the American people on immigration.
Understand, it’s not just the actions of the agents in the field; it’s the lack of accountability from the top that has caused public trust to erode, and there need to be major reforms before we vote to give any of you any funding.
Your agencies need to act like other law enforcement agencies. Take off the masks, wear badge numbers, enforce discipline with real standards of conduct – but accountability starts at the top.
Kristi Noem is completely unfit and should be removed from office. And all of the operations we have just seen were overseen by commander Gregory Bovino who himself engaged in excessive use of force.
He even admitted that he lied to a federal judge when he claimed he had been hit by a rock when he threw a teargas canister at a crowd of civilians, but after the footage came out and that turned out to not be true, he admitted that he lied about it.
He asks what disciplinary action they are going to take against Bovino, to which Rodney Scott says he can’t comment.
Asked if there was an investigation, Scott gives a vague answer about every allegation regarding use of force being investigated and reviewed.
Magaziner now highlights an incident in which a federal agent sprayed pepper spray directly into the face of an individual who had already been pinned to the ground by three other agents (here’s the clip, via CNN).
Is this proper procedure for the use of pepper spray, he asks.
Scott says he can’t comment on that because “you’re only showing one piece and that subject is clearly not compliant – ”.
Magaziner interrupts to reiterate that this is not the intended use of pepper spray. Scott says the intended use is to de-escalate.
Magaziner says being pinned to the ground by three other agents would suggest the individual had been de-escalated.
He then asks if there has been any investigation into the agent that did this, to which Scott says there are many open investigations and he’ll get back to him.
Magaziner turns to an incident from last year in which an Illinois man and his US citizen family – including his one-year-old daughter – were pepper-sprayed in their car by federal immigration agents during a shopping trip in a Chicago suburb.
Is it proper procedure to aim pepper spray into the window of a moving vehicle, he asks.
At first, Rodney Scott, commissioner of CBP, says he’s not familiar with all the details on this and it’s an ongoing investigation, before conceding, “we try to avoid that – no, it’s not proper procedure.”
Scott begins to talk about intentional vs unintentional, before Magaziner says that “from the video, this was clearly intentional”.
Asked if any of the agents involved were ever investigated and disciplined, Scott says the investigation is ongoing.
Todd Lyons is asked by Rhode Island Democrat Seth Magaziner whether ICE has hired anyone who was charged with a crime related to the January 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol.
After a brief pause, Lyons says he doesn’t have that information, “but I would say no.”
Magaziner asks if him to find out and please report back, to which Lyons agrees.
Asked if he would hire someone who had attacked police officers on January 6, even if they were “unfortunately” pardoned by the president, Lyons replies:
Sir, we take assault on law enforcement very serious and we have a good, strenuous vetting program.
In response to a line of questioning by California Democrat Lou Correa, Todd Lyons said that an American citizen “shouldn’t feel the need” to carry a passport to prove their legal status in the country. This comes amid several instances of US citizens being profiled, searched and detained by federal immigration officers during the crackdown in Minnesota and across the country.
“The number of cases of Americans being detained, being taken in, some being held for five days …What do we do with those people in that situation? What do we tell them?” Correa said.
Lyons was resolute that he was unaware of any examples of Americans detained by ICE.
Correa pushed Lyons on whether immigration enforcement is surveilling citizens, particularly protesters. “I can assure you, there is no database that’s tracking United States citizens,” Lyons replied.
Asked if there were plans to release any footage from body cameras worn by federal agents in Minnesota, in the spirit of transparency to regain public trust, Todd Lyons said:
100%, sir. One thing I’m committed to is full transparency, and I fully welcome body cameras all across the spectrum and all of our law enforcement activities. Yes sir, body camera footage will be released.
ICE’s acting director, Todd Lyons, did not confirm how many agents have been fired under his leadership when probed by Democratic lawmaker Eric Swalwell.
“I’m not going to speak about personnel actions, but I’ll get you that data,” Lyons said.
“Are you telling us you can’t even say one person’s been fired?” Swalwell pushed back.
Later, Lyons refused to comment when Swalwell asked if the he would apologize to the family of Renee Good, after Trump administration officials labelled her a “domestic terrorist”, after she was fatally shot by an ICE agent. The president, for his part, called Good a “professional agitator” and “very violent”, despite video footage showing her driving away from law enforcement when she was killed.
“I welcome the opportunity to speak to the family in private, but I’m not going to comment on any active investigation,” Lyons said at today’s oversight hearing.
Lyons responded to questions from Andrew Garbarino about the training that ICE agents and officers receive.
“They are taught in defensive tactics, personal safety, but as well as laws to include first, second, fourth, fifth, 10th, 14th amendment,” Lyons said. “The officers are trained before they go out into the field. And then while they’re in the field, there are specialized training when disturbance control and other special tactics.”
Rodney Scott, the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said that agents go through a 117 day Academy, while officers attend a 103 day training program.
Bennie Thompson pressed both Lyons and Scott about the body-warn cameras by federal immigration enforcement. The acting ICE director said that roughly 3,000 officers out of around 13,000 wear cameras. While Scott said around half of CBP’s 20,000 agents are fitted with cameras.
Acting ICE director says officers are facing ‘deadliest operating environment’ in agency’s history
Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, spoke about “the dangers that ICE agents and officers face nationwide” during his opening remarks today.
“I’m encouraged that some Minnesota officials are finally signaling the willingness to cooperate with ICE. Let me be clear, promises are not enough,” he said. “We need action in the wake of the unprecedented border crisis of the previous administration. ICE stepped into the breach to enforce the law. This commitment has a cost. We’re facing the deadliest operating environment our agents agencies history.”
Top Democrat reignites calls for Noem to resign
In his opening remarks today, Bennie Thompson, the homeland security committee’s ranking member, said that Kristi Noem’s Department of Homeland Security has the “blood of American citizens on its hand”. Thompson is one of several Democrats who have called on Noem to resign or risk impeachment.
The Democratic lawmaker also listed, what he sees, as several examples of indiscriminate use of force and profiling by federal law enforcement as the immigration crackdown continues in Minnesota. This included the detention of five-year-old Liam Ramos and his father – who were taken from Minneapolis, and sent to a facility in Texas.
“DHS personnel are now forcing their way into private homes without a judicial warrant, in violation of the fourth amendment,” Thompson said. “Secretary Noem is a liar with no concern for the lives of Americans killed by the department she runs. She must go.”
Top federal immigration officials answer lawmaker questions
On Capitol Hill, leaders for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will answer questions from the House homeland security committee.
“We sit here today at an inflection point,” said committee chair Andrew Garbarino, a Republican congressman from New York. After the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Nicole Good in Minneapolis by federal immigration officers, fervent outrage at the excessive use of force by ICE and border patrol agents has spread across the country.
“This is all unacceptable and preventable. The safety and law enforcement and the communities they serve and protect must also always come first,” Garbarino said in his opening remarks. “When officials or elected leaders rush to conclusions about law enforcement or their fellow Americans, public trust suffers. There must be complete and impartial investigation.”
This hearing comes as members of Congress continue to negotiate guardrails for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ahead of another possible partial shutdown when funding for the department lapses in three days. “Shutting down DHS makes America less safe,” Garbarino said, while noting that other agencies like Transportation Security Agency (TSA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) also fall under DHS’s mandate.
One note for today, the Rules committee will take up the SAVE America act, paving the way for a possible House floor vote. A reminder, this is the legislation – backed by the president and many Republican members of Congress – that would require proof of citizenship in order to vote.
Voting rights experts have long warned this requirement would act as a barrier to participating in elections, and noncitizens voting is both illegal and extremely rare.
Donald Trump has spent recent weeks reviving his baseless claims that US elections are “rigged,” even urging GOP lawmakers to “nationalize” voting, despite states running election administration, not the federal government.
Melody Schreiber
The Trump administration has launched TrumpRx, but there are other sites offering discounts on more medications, and the new government site will appeal to a very limited group of patients, experts say.
Trump has promised reforms on the unusually high drug prices in the US, and he called the announcement “the largest reduction in prescription drug prices in history” at a press conference on Thursday. Yet the site only lists 43 medications, more than half of which are available in generic form at significantly cheaper prices elsewhere.
The site may make some weight loss and fertility drugs not covered by insurance more accessible, but overall “it is not a solution for high drug prices in the United States”, said Sean Sullivan, professor of health economics and policy and former dean of pharmacy at the University of Washington.
“Consumers can probably get a cheaper version of these medicines through insurance and their pharmacies, or via cash pay services like Cost Plus Drugs than by the deals offered through TrumpRx,” Sullivan said.
“Healthcare is really complicated in America, and even the supply of prescription drugs is really complicated in America, and this has added to the complexity, instead of reducing complexity,” said Rena Conti, associate professor of markets, public policy, and law at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business.
The best course is likely still to “ask your local pharmacist what the best deal is”, Conti said.
Read Melody’s full report here:
DHS funding bill negotiations stall on Capitol Hill
On Capitol Hill, negotiations on a full year funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continue with little success in sight.
A reminder, short of passing another continuing resolution, DHS funding lapses after 13 February.
In order to prevent a shutdown in the coming days, Republicans would need seven Democrats on board for either another stopgap measure, or to agree to a full appropriations bill.
Later today we’ll hear from both House GOP and Democratic leaders at their respective press conferences to get a sense of how this back-and-forth is playing out.
Earlier, we reported that House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, and the Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, said that the initial GOP response to Democrats’ demands – which includes the need for judicial warrants and for immigration officers to no longer wear masks – is “both incomplete and insufficient in terms of addressing the concerns Americans have about ICE’s lawless conduct”. We’ve yet to see the memo or document outlining what the Republicans’ counter offer actually looks like.
Donald Trump is in Washington today. As of now, he’ll have time signing time in the Oval Office, followed by a policy meeting. However, none of these events will be open to the press. We will hear from press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who will brief reporters at 1pm ET.
We’ll bring you the latest lines as it happens.
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