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Congressman Ro Khanna condemns innocent names from Epstein files, becomes one of those abusive ‘wealthy, powerful men’ * WorldNetDaily * by Bob Unruh

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U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif.

Ro Khanna, a leftist Democrat member of Congress from California, has complained repeatedly about the “wealthy, powerful men” whose names are in the Jeffrey Epstein files and how they abused innocent people, how they should be condemned.

And that’s exactly what Khanna has become, according to a report from constitutional expert Jonathan Turley.

Khanna accomplished the feat, Turley explained, by naming, publicly on the floor of the U.S. House where he has literal immunity for his comments under the Speech and Debate Clause, four men named in the Epstein files who are totally innocent.

Their names were there only because police used those names and images, chosen randomly, in a police lineup in one case.

Khanna, of course, publicly condemned the four innocent men, and according to social media accounts, triggered the firing of one, who later was rehired when his complete noninvolvement was confirmed.

“Khanna’s self-described courageous moment in disclosing these six names was done carefully to avoid any threat to himself. He was careful to make the comments on the House floor, knowing that he cannot be sued under his constitutional immunity,” Turley explained.

“These four men are left with little recourse in the face of absolute immunity and the utter lack of decency by a member. Ironically, in denouncing how ‘wealthy powerful men’ are protected in a two-tiered legal system, Khanna pulled the ultimate powerplay — defaming four individuals with little concern of accountability. Ironically, Khanna succeeded in showing the ultimate example of the impunity enjoyed by “wealthy, powerful men.:”

Turley pointed out he previously had written a warning about releasing Epstein files “en masse” because that would include “tangential figures and unsupported allegations.”

“Politicians eager to capitalize on the scandal would likely show little concern for the underlying facts in ‘outing’ names and repeating unproven allegations,” he said. “That fear was realized this week with the chest-pounding speech of Rep. Ro Khanna (D., Cal.) on the House floor in which he took credit for outing six ‘wealthy, powerful men’ who he suggested were actively shielded by the DOJ from public exposure.”

But, Turley pointed out, four of those “have nothing to do with Epstein.”

“Had Khanna made these comments outside of the House floor, he would be looking at four defamation lawsuits. However, Khanna knew the men could not sue him because of the immunity afforded to him under the Constitution’s Speech and Debate Clause,” he explained.

Turley noted Khanna has been “pandering” to extremists to position himself for a 2028 president run.

He said Khanna took credit for “outing” the six, in “another Rep. Jasmine Crockett disaster where a gotcha moment became a spectacular face-planting.”

The constitutional expert explained members of Congress, in opposition to Khanna’s agenda, had raised concerns about releasing the names of “entirely innocent” people.

The four, he explained, “were just photos used in a photo lineup. In other words, they were just random individuals used by the police to fill out a lineup. The Justice Department responded to Khanna’s public demonstration by declaring that ‘Rep Ro Khanna and Rep Thomas Massie forced the unmasking of completely random people selected years ago for an FBI lineup – men and women. These individuals have NOTHING to do with Epstein or Maxwell.’”

Bob Unruh

Bob Unruh joined WND in 2006 after nearly three decades with the Associated Press, as well as several Upper Midwest newspapers, where he covered everything from legislative battles and sports to tornadoes and homicidal survivalists. He is currently a news editor for the WND News Center, and also a photographer whose scenic work has been used commercially. Read more of Bob Unruh’s articles here.