Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) raised questions about who is in control of the Justice Department’s X account after an Axios report alleged that the White House has taken over the DOJ’s social media page.
Massie was responding to a heated exchange on X between the DOJ and independent journalist Jamie Dupree.
In reference to recently released documents about Jeffrey Epstein, Dupree asked, “Why would [the] DOJ publicly release something that’s fake? Your answers please,” in response to the department’s X account. The post from the DOJ insisted, in Trump-esque all caps, that an alleged letter from financier Jeffrey Epstein to disgraced Olympic doctor Larry Nassar is “FAKE.”
The DOJ responded to Dupree, saying, “Because the law requires us to release all documents related to Jeffrey Epstein in our possession so that’s what we are doing, you dope. Are you suggesting we break the law?”
“DOJ did break the law by making illegal redactions and by missing the deadline,” Massie chimed in on Wednesday over X, adding, “By the way, who’s controlling the DOJ X account on Christmas Eve and using words like ‘dope’ to refer to reporters?”
Earlier in the day, Axios co-founder Mike Allen reported in the outlet’s morning newsletter that White House has begun managing the DOJ’s X account, noting that the social media page is “taking on a sharper tone with a more rapid-response campaign edge.”
The allegations that the White House is directly running messaging for the DOJ come after the latest batch of Epstein documents dropped on Tuesday, with some mentioning President Donald Trump’s name.
In an X post announcing the document dump, the DOJ warned that the files contain “untrue and sensational claims” made against Trump. “To be clear: the claims are unfounded and false, and if they had a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already,” according to the department’s X account.
The purported 2019 letter between Epstein and Nassar, which was included in Tuesday’s release of records, referenced Trump, claiming that “our president shares our love of young, nubile girls.”
FBI CONFIRMS ALLEGED EPSTEIN-NASSAR LETTER IS ‘FAKE,’ AS DOJ REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO RELEASE FILES
According to the DOJ, the Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed the letter was fabricated, determining that the handwriting did not match Epstein’s writing style. The letter was also postmarked three days after Epstein died, plus the postmark originated in northern Virginia, whereas Epstein was jailed in New York, the DOJ’s X account said. Additionally, the return address reportedly did not list the jail where Epstein was held nor include his inmate number, a requirement for outgoing mail.
The trove of documents was originally posted on Monday but then taken down, only to be reposted hours later.
On Friday, the DOJ missed the statutory deadline set by the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Trump signed into law. Instead, the DOJ released the first round of documents, many of them heavily redacted, that day.
MASSIE THREATENS TO BRING INHERENT CONTEMPT AGAINST BONDI TO FORCE FULL EPSTEIN FILES RELEASE
Massie, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, railed against Attorney General Pam Bondi for her department’s bungled release of the Epstein files. In an interview on CBS’s Face the Nation over the weekend, Massie said the DOJ’s actions from Friday were “flouting” the spirit of the Epstein files transparency law.
Massie suggested that bringing “inherent contempt” of Congress charges against Bondi may be the “most expeditious way” to enforce the DOJ’s compliance and ensure full release of the Epstein files.
