NEWSCNN Host Stunned During Live Broadcast After Learning Only Half of the Epstein Files Have Been Released
CNN anchor Erin Burnett was visibly shocked by Ro Khanna's Epstein revelations.
Feb. 25 2026, Published 1:37 p.m. ET
CNN anchor Erin Burnett was shocked when Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said that only half of the files relating to late child predator Jeffrey Epstein had been released.
The discussion followed a report alleging that 50 pages specifically relating to President Donald Trump were missing from a recent Department of Justice release.
Khanna appeared on CNN's OutFront alongside Epstein survivor Jaley Robson to discuss recent allegations by Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee, who allege that the Department of Justice withheld releasing documents detailing sexual assault allegations against the president.
Rep. Ro Khanna Continues to Push for Unredacted Release of Epstein Files
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif) has been instrumental on the push to release unredacted Epstein documents.
Democrats on the committee launched their investigation on Tuesday, February 24 — the day NPR released a bombshell report alleging that 50 pages relating to Trump were missing from the DOJ’s release.
Burnett asked Khanna if he knew how many files had gone unreleased.
“Do you think that we will ever see the files that have not been released, or even the full files, you know the parts that have been, you know, redacted or left out?” she asked. “And, do you know how much that we haven’t seen? Right, how would you describe the volume that we don’t yet know about?”
Rep. Ro Khanna shocked CNN anchor Erin Burnett when he told her only half of the Epstein files have been released.
Khanna said that only half of the files had been released to the public.
“I would say we haven’t seen about half,” said Khanna, before Burnett broke in, appearing quite shocked at the revelation.
“Half?!” she asked while mouthing “whoa!” as Khanna continued.
“And it’s the worst half,” said Khanna. “And the fact that we’ve seen half and it’s already stirred the conscience of this country that shocked the conscience shows how bad the stuff that we haven’t seen is.”
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'The Half We Haven't Seen Is the Worst Half'
The Epstein files yet to be released are said to be even worse than those that have.
Burnett couldn’t contain her shock.
“It’s really stunning, though, just to imagine that you’re saying we’ve only seen half, such that we’ve even seen it, and the half we haven’t seen is the worst half,” she admitted.
While the DOJ's review of the Epstein files was declared "over" by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in early February, Khanna and other lawmakers continue to push for the remaining records, citing a need for full accountability of the "wealthy individuals, tech leaders, finance leaders and politicians" implicated in the files.
Rep. Ro Khanna said the Trump administration will be called out if they try to tamper with the documents.
Khanna previously noted in January that while the DOJ identified over 6 million potentially responsive pages, it had only released about 3.5 million after review and redactions in which the president allegedly appears at least a million times.
"If the Trump administration tries to tamper with the documents, there are a lot of external validators who’ve seen the files who’d be able to call that out,” Khanna warned.
