By Alex Johnson | Monday, May 25, 2026
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is not retreating from public life after losing the Republican primary for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District to a candidate backed by President Donald Trump.
Massie, a libertarian-leaning conservative who often clashed with House Republican leaders and Trump, has threatened to expose more high-profile people named in documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. He also accused acting Attorney General Todd Blanche of withholding key evidence connected to Epstein’s sex trafficking operation and concealing the scale of the network.
In February, Massie took to the House floor to criticize the Department of Justice for failing to aggressively prosecute wealthy individuals implicated in the files. He publicly named three prominent figures whom he argued DOJ should thoroughly investigate: Les Wexner, Leon Black, and Jes Staley.
“Yes,” Massie told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday when asked whether he will reveal more names in the coming weeks.
Massie was a driving force behind passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which requires DOJ to release unclassified records and investigative materials related to Epstein, who died in federal custody while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.
“Todd Blanche is violating the law,” Massie said. “There [are] still millions of files they haven’t released. We know from talking to the victims’ lawyers that their own [FBI interview summaries known as] 302 forms haven’t been released. We know that files have been over-redacted. I have released at least three names of billionaires who are implicated in this.”
Massie, whose bid for an eighth term ended in a loss to retired Navy SEAL officer Ed Gallrein in the May 19 Republican primary, vowed to continue pushing for disclosures under the Epstein Files Transparency Act regardless of whether he remains in Congress.
“So, if we can’t get this attorney general and this FBI director to do the right thing, the next ones who take those seats are obligated by law to release the files that these individuals are not releasing now,” he said.
DOJ said Jan. 30 that it published more than 3 million additional pages, along with more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, bringing the total number of released pages to nearly 3.5 million. But Massie has asserted that internal data suggests the full scope of documents exceeds 6 million pages.
Meanwhile, Massie on Monday said he filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission for the 2028 election.
“I filed with FEC for the 2028 House race,” he wrote on X. “This allows me to raise funds to continue my political operations supporting my position as a current officeholder and as a potential candidate for federal office. I haven’t made a final decision about which office to seek, if I run.”
In his concession speech, Massie’s supporters urged him to run for president in 2028. He told “Meet the Press” he wouldn’t rule anything out regarding his political future.
“Look, I’ve spent the last five days on my farm with my grandkids, and my cattle, and my peach trees, and it’s a pretty nice life,” he said. “I don’t know if I want to screw that up again. I’ve been in Congress 14 years, fighting. Every hour that passes, I get decompressed a little bit more.
“It’s like coming up from the bottom of the ocean. And I’ll take some time and decide what’s next. But I think I will stay engaged in some way or shape. Maybe it’s from the outside. I’ve been exposing what’s going on in Washington, D.C., for years, and I’ll keep doing it.”
