From left, Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia), Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) and Ro Khanna (D-California) before a September 3 news conference calling for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Photo / Matt McClain, The Washington Post
From left, Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia), Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) and Ro Khanna (D-California) before a September 3 news conference calling for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Photo / Matt McClain, The Washington Post
A bipartisan House effort to force a vote on releasing more files related to the federal Government’s investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein can now move forward.
A discharge petition - a mechanism by which House lawmakers can circumvent the normal legislative process to compel votes - received the218th signature today needed to force a vote on the Epstein files.
The newly sworn-in Representative Adelita Grijalva (D-Arizona) provided the final signature, adding her name to a list of lawmakers that includes all 214 Democrats and four Republicans: Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene (Georgia), Lauren Boebert (Colorado), Nancy Mace (South Carolina), and Thomas Massie (Kentucky).
Massie introduced the petition alongside Representative Ro Khanna (D-California) in July, and the lawmakers have agitated for greater transparency around the Epstein case, including by participating in a news conference with about a dozen of Epstein’s victims in early September.
Now that the petition has 218 signatures, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) is required by House rules to bring the Epstein-related measure to the floor after a period of seven legislative days.
That sets up a politically fraught vote that some Republican members have been trying to avoid since before the August recess.
If enacted, the measure would require the attorney-general to “release all documents and records in possession of the Department of Justice relating to Jeffrey Epstein”, minus identifiable information of the victims, within 30 days of the Bill’s enactment.
However, even if the legislation succeeds in the House, there is no guarantee of it leading to the full release of the Epstein files in the Justice Department’s possession.
The Bill would need to pass the Senate and be signed into law by President Donald Trump.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) and Trump have not expressed interest in advancing the legislation.
“I don’t know what their Bill does over there, but I think that the Justice Department has released a lot of the information, and I’ve encouraged them to be as transparent as possible,” Thune said as the petition began to rapidly gain signatures in September.
“There’s thousands of pages that have already been released.”
The discharge petition’s success was a striking defeat for Johnson who has repeatedly criticised Massie and Khanna’s effort as “moot” and “unnecessary”.
Johnson has encouraged his conference to support the work of the House Oversight Committee, which is in the midst of its own months-long inquiry into Epstein. A resolution in support of the Oversight investigation passed in early September.
The Oversight Committee has released a number of documents obtained during the course of its probe.
These include a book of birthday greetings said to be from prominent Epstein associates that had a note signed “Donald”. Trump denies the note was from him and has sued the two Wall Street Journal reporters who first wrote about the note, as well as Dow Jones, News Corp, and Rupert Murdoch. The suit is ongoing.
Among other items, the committee has also released a federal non-prosecution agreement Epstein entered into and more than 33,000 pages of documents the federal Government amassed in its Epstein investigation. Democrats have argued that most of these files were publicly available.
Also released were flight logs and lists of appointments, as well as the transcripts of interviews the committee conducted with figures seen as having insight into investigations into Epstein.
Lawmakers supporting the discharge petition say the effort led by Massie and Khanna will result in the release of a more comprehensive set of documents than the Oversight inquiry.
Although Trump has been dismissive of efforts to release more Epstein files, referring to calls for greater public access as a “Democrat hoax that never ends”, House Republicans face pressure from their base over the documents.
Questions about Epstein’s death and activities have abounded on the right.
Information that Trump’s Justice Department released about Epstein in July - including a memo that stated that Epstein died by suicide and that no list naming powerful associates who may have engaged in improper behaviour with minors exists - did not quiet the concerns of large parts of the GOP base.
House Republicans and Democrats alike have said they face questions about the Epstein files from constituents.
And women who have accused Epstein of abuse have also increased pressure on Congress to act.
At their September news conference, several of Epstein’s victims asked lawmakers to support the Massie and Khanna effort and called for all Epstein files to be released.
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