Massie: Iran Strike Won’t Bury Epstein Files — Lawmakers Move To Force Vote On War Authorization

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) accused the Trump administration on Sunday of attempting to distract from renewed scrutiny of Jeffrey Epstein by carrying out military action abroad. Massie warned that an overseas strike will not make the growing cache of Epstein-related Department of Justice documents disappear.

Rep. Thomas Massie vowed he won't be distracted from Jeffrey Epstein. / Screenshot/X / X

“PSA: Bombing a country on the other side of the globe won’t make the Epstein files go away, any more than the Dow going above 50,000 will,” Massie wrote on X, reiterating his push for transparency in the Epstein investigation.

Massie and his Democrat ally Ro Khanna have emerged as fierce opposition to Trump, especially amid the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. / Alex Wong / Getty Images

Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna co-authored the Epstein Files Transparency Act — legislation President Trump reluctantly signed — which requires the DOJ to release all files connected to Epstein by Dec. 19, 2025. To date the DOJ has made public more than 3 million documents related to Epstein, while roughly another 3 million remain withheld for a variety of reasons.

Trump launched his war from a hastily constructed space in Mar-a-Lago with (left) John Ratcliffe, the Director of the CIA, (fourth from right) Secretary of State Marco Rubio, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and (second from right), Dan Scavino, his golf caddy turned aide. / White House / X

Congressional Push To Force A War Vote

Massie has also been a vocal critic of presidential military action taken without prior congressional authorization. On Feb. 19 he wrote on X that “Congress must vote on war according to our Constitution.” He and Rep. Ro Khanna said they will press to force a House vote on any authorization for further conflict in the Middle East.

Thomas Massie's X post included credible reporting about the attack from the Associated Press. / Screenshot/X / X

The pair were expected to bring a measure to the floor aimed at limiting the president’s ability to take unilateral military action.

Trump announced the strike on Iran sans tie and wearing a Trucker hat in the early hours of Saturday morning. / US President Trump Via Truth Social/Anadolu via Getty Images

Reported Civilian Casualties And Reactions

U.S. and allied officials described a major strike early Saturday that, according to Iranian state media, included a direct hit on the Shajareye Tayabeh girls’ school in Minab, Hormozgan Province. Iranian state news agency IRNA reported the strike killed at least 43 students and wounded 63 others; those casualty figures have not been independently verified in this report.

Massie again took to X to condemn the operation as an unauthorized act of war and as inconsistent with “America First” rhetoric. Linking to an Associated Press report, he said he will work with Khanna to force representatives to go on record by voting for or against any war with Iran.

President Trump has publicly derided Massie, calling him a “loser” and a “moron,” and is backing Massie’s primary challenger, Ed Gallrein, in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District. The Daily Beast contacted the White House and Massie’s office for comment.

Context: Critics have suggested that high-profile foreign-policy moves sometimes coincide with periods of intense scrutiny of Trump’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019 and was once described by Epstein as among Trump’s closest associates.