An increasing number of Republican lawmakers reportedly want Attorney General Pam Bondi to release all files the Department of Justice has related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
So much so, that some GOP members have said it's inevitable Congress will pass legislation directing Bondi to release all files connected to the disgraced financier.
One U.S. senator told The Hill that many Republican House members who did not sign a discharge petition to bring the Epstein matter to a floor vote still have been "very vocal" in demanding the DOJ release all pertinent materials.
"Whole bunches of them have been very vocal about this. Most of the Freedom Caucus has been," the senator told the outlet. "The problem for some of these folks is that this has been an issue for years."
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.; Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C.; and Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., so far are the only Republicans who have signed on to a bipartisan discharge petition from Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif.
Massie and Khanna are just one vote short of getting 218 signatures to force a vote on their bill.
Arizona holds a special election on Sept. 23, and Democrat Adelita Grijalva is expected to win the seat vacated by her father's death earlier this year. After that, the discharge petition likely will have enough votes.
Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., and Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., are among Republicans who haven't signed the discharge petition but have called for the Trump administration to prioritize the release of the Epstein files.
In the Senate, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., last week moved to force a Senate vote on the Epstein files with an amendment he introduced to the National Defense Authorization Act.
Although it's likely Schumer's amendment would fail to earn 60 votes and thus is unlikely to get a vote, as Politico reported, several GOP senators joined Democrats in calling for more transparency with the Epstein files.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said they would support the amendment, and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he voted against Schumer's amendment only because it was a "procedural vote," meaning GOP leaders were certain to strip it from the final version of the defense bill, The Hill reported.
However, Tillis added that "if there was an amendment on the floor that would have the force of law, I'd vote for it in a heartbeat."
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.