Support appears to be gaining among House Republicans to force a vote on demanding the Department of Justice release all files related to the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Momentum has accelerated since DOJ and the FBI last week announced in a memo that after "an exhaustive review of investigative holdings relating to Epstein," it found "no incriminating 'client list,'" no credible evidence that Epstein blackmailed prominent people, and no "evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties."
The memo also concluded that Epstein died by suicide while in federal custody on Aug. 10, 2019, as he awaited trial and was not killed by someone else, as many have speculated.
Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., on Tuesday introduced a discharge petition, a procedural tool for bypassing House leadership. If the petition is signed by a majority, or 218 members, the House must vote on Massie's Epstein Files Transparency Act.
The legislation states that no later than 30 days after it is enacted, Attorney General Pam Bondi must make publicly available "all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials" possessed by DOJ, the FBI and U.S. attorney's offices related to Epstein; his associate Ghislaine Maxwell; others connected with Epstein's criminal activities, civil settlements, immunity or plea agreements, or investigatory proceedings; entities with known or alleged ties to Epstein's trafficking or financial networks, as well as other specified documents and communications.
"We all deserve to know what's in the Epstein files, who's implicated, and how deep this corruption goes," Massie said Tuesday in a statement. "Americans were promised justice and transparency. We're introducing a discharge petition to force a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on releasing the complete files. If your Representative won't sign the discharge petition, ask why."
As of Wednesday afternoon, five Republicans signed on to the petition: Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Eric Burlison of Missouri, and Tim Burchett of Tennessee, The Hill reported. If all 212 House Democrats join, Massie would have enough support to pass the discharge petition and force a vote.
"We already have six Republicans, we have the leadership of the Rules Committee getting every Democrat on it," Khanna told The New York Times. "The math is obvious; we're going to get a vote on the full release of these Epstein files. An overwhelming vote of Congress is not something the president can ignore, politically."
President Donald Trump on Tuesday repeated his claim that such Epstein files were "made up" by his predecessors in the White House, even though he said multiple times during the 2024 campaign he would "probably" release them.
He also said that DOJ should release all "credible" information from its investigation into Epstein as he sought to stem criticism from his supporters over his administration's handling of the case.
The Epstein Transparency Act also states that the disclosed files cannot "be withheld, delayed, or redacted" should they cause "embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary."
"I am proudly cosponsoring and will sign the discharge petition," Greene wrote Wednesday in a post on X. "I will never protect pedophiles or the elites and their circles."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.