Democrat Ro Khanna and Republican Thomas Massie have major egg on their faces after they outed the names of completely innocent men, whose names were redacted in the Epstein files.
Ro Khanna went to the House floor and read the names aloud:
Ro Khanna literally called them “wealthy, powerful” men, as to connect them further to Epstein by virtue of being rich and powerful. But that’s not true. One has been a mechanic for 30 years, and another is just an IT manager in Queens.
Four of the men named by Khanna were only in the Epstein files because they were in a photo lineup used by the SDNY during the Epstein investigation. That’s it, and why their names were redacted.
But these clowns, Khanna and Massie, for the DOJ’s hand and now these names are out there and they had nothing to do with Epstein.
Here’s much more on this from The Guardian:
Ro Khanna, a California Democratic representative, read a list of six names on the House floor earlier this week and said they were “wealthy, powerful men that the DoJ hid” in the recently released files related to Jeffrey Epstein. After questions from the Guardian, the Department of Justice said that four of the men Khanna named have no apparent connection to Epstein whatsoever, but rather appeared in a photo lineup assembled by the southern district of New York (SDNY).
Khanna, along with Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican representative, pushed the justice department to unredact names in the files, arguing that some names were being unlawfully redacted. Massie claimed credit on X earlier this week for forcing the justice department to remove redactions on a file that listed 20 names, birthdays and photos, including those of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Khanna then read some of those names on the House floor.
Two of the six men Khanna mentioned are Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, an Emirati billionaire businessperson who has since resigned as CEO of DP World , and Leslie Wexner, a billionaire retail magnate, but the other four names did not appear to have any public profile.
A spokesperson from the office of Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, told the Guardian the file was a photo lineup used for investigative purposes by the SDNY.
“Rep Ro Khanna and Rep Thomas Massie forced the unmasking of completely random people selected years ago for an FBI lineup – men and women. These individuals have NOTHING to do with Epstein or Maxwell,” the spokesperson told the Guardian.
When contacted for comment on this story and told administration officials confirmed the document was a photo lineup, Khanna posted on X that “I wish DoJ had provided that explanation earlier instead of redacting then unredacting their names. They have failed to protect survivors, created confusion for innocent men, and have protected rich and powerful abusers. We must have full transparency and the truth.” He also thanked the Guardian for reporting on the connection to the photo lineup.
The Guardian spoke with two of the men whose names Khanna read out on the floor. They both strongly denied knowing Epstein at all; one said he didn’t realize his name had been mentioned on the House floor in connection to Epstein until the Guardian contacted him. The two men acknowledged they were arrested by the NYPD in the past for unrelated crimes, which could explain how their photos ended up in a photo array assembled by law enforcement.
Salvatore Nuarte, of Queens, New York, said he called Khanna’s office after hearing that his name was mentioned. “I don’t know if they know what they are doing over there at the justice department,” he told the Guardian. “But how can I clear my name?”
A spokesperson for Khanna’s office shared with the Guardian an email it sent to Nuarte after he reached out. “The Department of Justice has not been transparent in what the list was or why they redacted and unredacted your name,” Sarah Drory, Khanna’s communications director, wrote to Nuarte. “We will make sure to be absolutely factual and truthful once we have these facts and certainly not fuel any misimpression DoJ has created.”
Leonid Leonov, whose name was incorrectly listed as Leonic Leonov in the files, but whose photo and birthday matches the file, is an IT manager in Queens. He vigorously denied knowing Epstein. “I don’t even have a second or third degree connection to him. Never worked for him, nothing,” he said when reached via phone.
The two other men Khanna named, Zurab Mikeladze and Nicola Caputo, could not be reached.
A spokesperson for Massie responded to a lengthy list of questions by pointing only to a post by Massie on X clarifying that the Caputo in the files was not an Italian politician with the same name.
I wish Khanna could be sued for this, but he used his privilege to name them on the House floor, which protects him from prosecution.