Congressmen name ‘redacted’ billionaires in Epstein files

Published February 12, 2026
Thomas Massie questions US Attorney General Pam Bondi before the House Judiciary Committee.—AFP
Thomas Massie questions US Attorney General Pam Bondi before the House Judiciary Committee.—AFP

• ‘Co-conspirators’ include ex-Victoria’s Secret boss, DP World CEO
• Bondi backs DoJ during congressional grilling; lawmaker claims database contains over a million results for ‘Trump’
• UK, Canadian investors halt business with DP World; India’s oil minister admits ‘only business ties’ with Epstein

DEMOCRATIC Congressman Ro Khanna revealed six previously redacted names from the Justice Department’s investigative files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, triggering international fallout from London to New Delhi, CBS News reported.

During his speech on the House floor on Tuesday, Khanna revealed the names of billionaires including Leslie Wexner, the former chief executive of Victoria’s Secret parent company, and Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the Dubai-based chief executive of the global logistics giant DP World.

The list also included Salvatore Nuara, Zurab Mikeladze, Leonic Leonov and Nicola Caputo.

Khanna and Republican congressman Thomas Massie had viewed the unredacted documents at the Justice Department on Monday.

While the newly disclosed records do not appear to allege specific criminal wrongdoing against the individuals named, Khanna criticised the department for withholding names “for no apparent reason”.

“And if we found six men that they were hiding in two hours, imagine how many men they are covering up for in those 3 million files,” he said.

The DoJ’s spokesperson defended the redaction process asserting that errors were inevitable within millions of pages and some redactions might have been accidental.

The scrutiny of the department’s handling of the files culminated on Wednesday during a heated House Judiciary Committee hearing with Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Congressional Democrats accused Bondi of conducting a “cover-up” regarding the Epstein records, Reuters reported.

Rep Jamie Raskin, the ranking member, criticised the pace of the release and argued the redactions violated the Epstein Files Trans­pa­rency Act, which mandates the disclosure of associates who are not victims.

Raskin further accused the dep­artment under Bondi of becoming President Donald Trump’s “instrument of revenge” by pursuing political opponents, AFP reported.

Separately, Raskin told Axios on Tuesday that searching the unredacted database for Trump’s name produced “more than a million results”.

Raskin clarified that he searched for the terms “Trump,” “Donald” or “Don” and could not verify that every result referred to the president. However, Raskin said he found a 2009 email exchange regarding Epstein that seemingly contradicts Trump’s claim that he removed Epstein from Mar-a-Lago.

International fallout

The release of the names has already triggered international business consequences. Reuters reported that the United Kingdom’s development finance agency and Canada’s second-largest pension fund, La Caisse, have suspended new investments with DP World. Files review showed CEO bin Sulayem corresponded with Epstein regarding business, sex and plans to visit Epstein’s Caribbean island.

British International Investment told Reuters it was “shocked by the allegations” and would pause investments until DP World took action.

Meanwhile, India’s oil minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, admitted to parliament that he met Epstein “three or maximum four times” while working at the International Peace Institute in New York, Reuters reported.

Answering questions from opposition leader Rahul Gandhi regarding emails found in the files, Puri denied any involvement in wrongdoing. He stated his interactions with Epstein were focused on connecting with LinkedIn founder Reid Hoff­man to discuss business potential in India.

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2026

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