US lawmaker says Trump may be using Iran conflict to distract from Epstein files

As the dust of the latest US-Israel strikes on Iran settled, Republican Representative Thomas Massie turned the spotlight back home and leveled a pointed accusation at President Donald Trump.

Massie claims that Trump may be trying to bury public attention on the explosive Jeffrey Epstein files by entangling the United States in a foreign conflict. The congressman’s comments came shortly after the US Department of Justice released millions of pages of documents related to Epstein, mentioning Trump over 5,000 times though no criminal activity by the former president was indicated.

“Bombing a country on the other side of the globe won’t make the Epstein files go away,” Massie wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.

“Acts of war unauthorized by Congress”

Massie did not stop at distraction claims. He labelled the US-Israeli strikes on Iran as “acts of war unauthorized by Congress,” and argued that they contradict the “America First” principles that Trump often touts.

The lawmaker, who has long criticised Trump over his ties to Epstein, is among several politicians suggesting that foreign crises are being used strategically to shift the news cycle away from domestic scandals.

Massie co-sponsored the Epstein Files Transparency Act with Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, which forced the DOJ to release all documents connected to the convicted sex offender. Trump signed the bill into law in November after mounting pressure.

Redacted names fuel suspicions

Last month, Massie and Khanna publicly identified six men whose names had been redacted in the DOJ’s final tranche of files, prompting questions about who else might be shielded from scrutiny.

“Imagine how many men they are covering up for in those three million files,” Khanna told Congress, highlighting frustrations over the delayed release of key information.

The DOJ, however, has pushed back against such claims. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche accused the lawmakers of “grandstanding” and insisted that the department has nothing to hide.

Fallout for Massie

Massie’s outspoken stance has strained his relationship with Trump. In January, the former president took to Truth Social to call him a “weak and pathetic” “third-rate congressman” and publicly endorsed Massie’s primary challenger, Ed Gallrein, in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District.

To date, the DOJ has not announced any charges against individuals mentioned in the Epstein files. But with foreign conflict heating headlines, Massie and others remain determined to keep attention on the documents, warning that history could otherwise be rewritten in real time.

Public and political reactions

Social media reaction to Massie’s claims has been mixed. Some users applauded the congressman for keeping pressure on the administration to address Epstein-related transparency, while others argued that linking foreign policy to domestic scandals risks undermining national security.

Legal analysts note that while no evidence in the files implicates Trump criminally, the optics of frequent mentions coupled with military action abroad could sway public perception and that, critics say, may be precisely the distraction Massie warns about.

Whether the spotlight remains on Iran or swings back to the Epstein files will depend in part on the media, congressional inquiries, and the ongoing political chess between Massie, Khanna, and Trump’s inner circle.

{Source: IOL}

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