ISTANBUL

US Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie said Sunday that they are drafting inherent contempt charges against Attorney General Pam Bondi for withholding Epstein investigation files.

"The quickest way, and I think most expeditious way, to get justice for these victims is to bring inherent contempt against Pam Bondi, and that doesn't require going through the courts," Massie told CBC when asked what steps would be taken to force compliance to release all Epstein files.

Khanna said inherent contempt requires only House approval, and they are building a bipartisan coalition.

"It would fine Pam Bondi for every day that she's not releasing these documents," Khanna said, accusing Bondi of "breaking the law."

He expressed confidence in gaining bipartisan support and said a congressional committee should determine whether redactions are justified.

Inherent contempt allows the US Congress to use its power to directly punish obstruction of investigations or refusal to comply with subpoenas.

The Justice Department released thousands of records Friday related to the sex trafficking investigation into disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

The release came on the final day allowed by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which forces the agency to disclose all documents related to the probe.

However, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Friday that the Justice Department would make a partial release of "several hundred thousand."

Epstein was found dead in his New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.