Ro Khanna: Epstein Files Transparency

Learn English with Emmanuel Macron. In his 2026 World Economic Forum special address in Davos, the French President delivers a powerful message on global instability, trade wars, and the return of power politics. Macron challenges Donald Trump’s economic pressure tactics and defends multilateralism, European sovereignty, and the rule of law in a rapidly changing world order.

Who This Speech Is For

• Learners interested in American politics, justice, and public accountability.

• Those who want to understand how politicians question government agencies in formal settings.

• Intermediate to advanced learners studying persuasive and investigative speech styles.

How This Speech Helps Your English

• Learn formal political vocabulary such as “transparency,” “accountability,” “violation,” and “prosecution.”

• Observe how rhetorical questions are used to challenge authority and engage listeners.

• Study repetition techniques like “Who are they protecting?” to create emphasis.

• Improve listening skills with clear American English spoken in a formal congressional setting.

Why This Speech Matters

• Raises questions about transparency in high-profile investigations.

• Connects legal accountability with broader themes like inequality and elite power.

• Encourages critical thinking about justice systems and democratic oversight.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday Congressman Massey and I went to the Department of Justice to read the unredacted Epstein files. We spent about two hours there and we learned that 70 to 80 percent of the files are still redacted. In fact, there were six wealthy powerful men that the DOJ hid for no apparent reason. When Congressman Massey and I pointed this out to the Department of Justice, they acknowledged their mistake, and now they have revealed the identity of these six powerful men. These men are Salvatore Navora, Zorab Mikuladz, Leopig Leonor, Nicola Kaputa, Sultan Ahmed bin Suleyem, CEO of Dubai Ports World, and billionaire businessman Leslie Wexner, who was labeled as a co-conspirator by the FBI.

Now, my question is, why did it take Thomas Massey and me going to the Justice Department to get these six men’s identities to become public? And if we found six men that they were hiding in two hours, imagine how many men they are covering up for in those three million files.

But the story gets worse. The reality is that Donald Trump’s FBI scrubbed these files in March, long before Thomas Massey and I passed the Epstein Transparency Act. Now, my bill is clear. The Epstein Transparency Act requires them to unredact those FBI files. And yet the Justice Department said to me and to Congressman Massey, we just uploaded whatever the FBI sent us. And guess what? The FBI sent scrubbed files.

That means the survivor’s statement to the FBI, naming rich and powerful men who went to Epstein’s Island, who went to his ranch, who went to his home and r—ped and abused underage girls or saw underage girls being paraded, they’re all hidden. They’re all redacted. It’s a little bit of a farce. They’re inviting all the members of Congress to go to see the Department of Justice, quote-unquote, unredacted files, but they’ve got all redacted files from the FBI. And it’s not the fault of the Justice Department attorneys. They were just told upload things that Donald Trump’s FBI had already scrubbed. It’s a blatant violation of the Epstein Transparency Act, but it also asks a fundamental question.

Who are they protecting? Why are they protecting these rich and powerful men, people I call part of the Epstein class? Why are we in a country where there is no elite accountability for people who do the most heinous things?

You have in England the king now calling for an investigation and possible prosecution of his own brother. You have in Norway the princess who no longer has support to be the queen. And yet in the United States of America we have someone in the cabinet, Howard Lutnick, who is all over these Epstein files, who allegedly had business with Epstein after he was convicted of p—dophilia, and he still is in the cabinet.

We need to ask ourselves, are we in America going to have elite accountability? Are we going to call on rich and powerful people who broke the law or cavorted with a p—dophile, a convicted p—dophile? Are we going to call them to account? Are we going to have prosecutions for billionaires who went to this island and either r—ped underage girls or saw underage girls being r—ped and didn’t say anything? Are we going to have investigations?

I’ll tell you what this is about. It’s not just about the 1,200 survivors. It’s about two tiers of justice in America. It’s about people who can accumulate wealth and power and don’t have to care about the rest of America. They have destroyed so much of this country. Income inequality is at a 60-year high. Workers’ salaries are less than they have been for 75 years as a part of GDP. Somehow this country seems to be working for the rich and powerful, but it’s not working for ordinary working class Americans.

I say enough. It’s time to begin with accountability for the Epstein class. Hold them in front of Congress, those people who visited the island or did business with Epstein after he was a convicted p—dophile. Investigate them, prosecute them and let’s return to democratic accountability in the United States of America. Let’s return to one system of justice in the United States of America. Let’s return to a place where every American has a stake in this country.