- Tracey calls the Epstein Files Transparency Act a "Trojan horse," warning it enables perpetual government concealment through broad exemptions.
- He blasts mainstream media for a "hysterical, one-sided feeding frenzy" that amplifies unvetted claims and harms nuanced victim narratives.
- Tracey highlights loopholes—national security and perpetual victim redactions—that undermine true transparency despite the bill's promise.
In a fiery takedown that has independent journalists buzzing, Michael Tracey, the roving reporter known for his no-holds-barred dissections of political myths, joined Rising on The Hill Thursday to shred the newly signed Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Signed into law by President Donald Trump just two weeks ago, the bill promises a flood of long-buried documents on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
But Tracey isn’t buying the hype. He called it a “Trojan horse” for more government stonewalling, while unleashing a blistering critique of mainstream media for what he termed a “hysterical, one-sided feeding frenzy” that drowns out the messy realities of Epstein’s victims.
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The Epstein Files Transparency Act (H.R. 4405), co-sponsored by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), mandates the Department of Justice to release all unclassified records, communications, and investigative materials related to Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell within 30 days of enactment.
That clock started ticking on November 19, 2025, when Trump put pen to paper after a dramatic U-turn from his earlier opposition.
The House passed it 427-1 on November 18, with the Senate following via unanimous consent the next day.
Among the documents due out by mid-December: flight logs, internal DOJ emails, plea deals, and references to high-profile names like former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, Prince Andrew, and others who’ve long danced on the periphery of Epstein’s web.
“This Bill Is Not About Releasing All the Epstein Files”
But as Tracey laid out in the 15-minute segment, hosted by Rising‘s Robby Soave and Emma Vigeland, the bill’s fine print is riddled with escape hatches.
“This bill is not about releasing all the Epstein files,” Tracey said flatly, leaning into the camera with his trademark intensity.
“Rather, it is giving the government an excuse to continue concealing Epstein files in perpetuity.”
He zeroed in on two glaring loopholes: broad exemptions for “national security” — a nod to persistent rumors of Epstein’s intelligence ties — and perpetual redactions to “protect victims.”
Tracey noted that most alleged victims are now in their 30s or older, questioning why their identities need shielding forever when public interest demands full transparency.
“Remember these purported victims are now at minimum in their 30s,” Tracey pressed.
“So why is it that any identifying information that relates to them needs to be concealed from the public in perpetuity?”
His point landed like a gut punch, especially amid recent House Oversight Committee releases of over 33,000 pages in September 2025, which largely recycled old news without the bombshells many anticipated.
Tracey’s appearance comes amid a torrent of Epstein scrutiny.
The bill’s passage capped months of bipartisan pressure, fueled by survivors’ vigils on Capitol Hill and Trump’s own campaign pledge in June 2024 to declassify the files if reelected.
Yet the lone House “no” vote from Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) echoed Tracey’s concerns, warning it could expose witnesses unnecessarily.
Trump, who once called the saga a “Democrat hoax,” flipped to endorsement after allies like Massie and Greene twisted arms in a September press conference — one that infamously ended with Tracey himself being ejected by Capitol Police at Greene’s urging, after he grilled attorney Bradley Edwards on accuser Virginia Giuffre’s credibility.
The Giuffre Factor: From “Unblemished Martyr” to Credibility Crisis
That ejection, detailed in Tracey’s subsequent Substack post, underscores his broader media indictment.
Giuffre, whose claims of being trafficked to figures like Prince Andrew and Alan Dershowitz formed the Epstein “mythology,” recanted her Dershowitz accusation in a 2022 settlement but secured millions from Andrew amid his PR meltdown.
Prosecutors skipped her as a witness in Maxwell’s 2021 trial due to credibility issues, Tracey reminded viewers.
“She was the one who actually spawned, in large part, the initial theory that Epstein orchestrated a massive pedophile ring,” he said on On Balance with Leland Vittert in September.
Yet media, he argued, treats her as an “unblemished martyr,” ignoring serial fabrications from other accusers and inflating victim counts to “over a thousand” without distinction between minors and adults.
This “hysteria,” Tracey charged, harms real survivors by prioritizing sensationalism over facts.
He cited Chauntae Davies, a 23-year-old massage therapist photographed rubbing Clinton’s shoulders in 2002, who in 2020 described him as a “perfect gentleman” and denied victim status until settlement opportunities arose post-Epstein’s 2019 death.
“The public has been trained to assume that anyone identified as an Epstein ‘victim’ must’ve been an underage sex slave,” Tracey wrote in an August Substack piece subpoenaing Clinton.
Mainstream outlets, he said, amplify unvetted claims while alternative media spins QAnon-adjacent conspiracies, leaving victims’ nuanced stories — like Davies’ initial denials or Giuffre’s psychological struggles before her 2025 death — buried.
Media Backlash: NYT Warns of “New Problems” for Victims
The New York Times’ recent piece warning that full disclosure could “create new problems” for victims only fueled Tracey’s ire.
“They go absolutely berserk when somebody such as myself asks a critical question,” he told NewsNation, recalling the Capitol mob that bayed for his removal.
It’s a pattern, he argued: from his boot from Greene’s event to attacks labeling him a “pedophile apologist” for demanding evidence over innuendo.
As the December 19 deadline looms, Attorney General Pam Bondi faces mounting calls — including a fresh Trump-ordered probe into Democrats‘ Epstein links — to honor the law’s spirit.
But Tracey, who’s filed multiple FOIAs on the case, sees shadows.
“I’ve long been 100% in favor of maximum disclosure,” he tweeted in September, blasting the bill for empowering Bondi to hide intel-linked files.
Bill O’Reilly, guesting on a related No Spin News segment, nodded along: “Tracey’s right — this isn’t transparency; it’s theater.”
Also Read: A DOJ Whistleblower Now Makes Revelation That Undermines the Judicial System’s Integrity
