Rep. Thomas Massie is publicly pleading with his Republican colleagues to break rank with House GOP leaders and join his crusade to force a vote on the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
At a Wednesday press conference outside the Capitol alongside some of the late convicted sex offender’s accusers, Massie said he needed just two more members on his side of the aisle to sign onto the discharge petition that will allow him to bypass leadership and get his bill on the floor.
All Democrats are expected to put their names on the petition, meaning a total of six Republican signatures is necessary to reach the 218-member threshold.
“We demand real accountability,” said Massie, a Kentucky Republican. “I encourage my colleagues … there’s over 200 Republicans who have not signed this discharge petition. We only need two of them to sign it.”
Massie’s effort at one point seemed all but guaranteed to succeed, but it’s taken a hit amid pressure from the Trump administration to stand down — and as Republican leaders point to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s success so far in compelling the release of Epstein-related documents through a separate subpoena.
“This is the most comprehensive investigation into Epstein and Maxwell to date,” House Oversight chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said Wednesday morning at a GOP leadership press conference, regarding his panel’s probe.
He also said that Epstein’s estate would begin turning over materials on Sept. 8 in compliance with another subpoena that would, among other materials, compel the release of a “birthday book” that reportedly includes a letter from President Donald Trump to Epstein.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has called Massie’s measure “inartfully drafted” and said he believed the Oversight investigation will uncover new and relevant information as the Justice Department turns over more of the files in its possession.
But Massie countered that the Oversight Committee route is essentially “allowing the DOJ to curate all of the information that the DOJ is giving them.”
He noted that the first batch of materials unloaded Tuesday night included an overwhelming number of redactions and consisted almost exclusively of information that has already been made public. The Oversight Committee also sat on the materials for more than a week before releasing them publicly, allowing staff on both sides of the aisle to comb through documents to ensure that victims’ identities were protected and other criminal matters were not compromised.
Massie’s bill, in contrast, would provide fewer opportunities for the Trump administration and White House allies on Capitol Hill to slow-walk the process of making the Epstein files public.
Whereas the Justice Department is handing over materials piecemeal, Massie’s measure would require the DOJ to turn over nearly all of the information in its possession around Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell — who is now serving a 20-year prison sentence for her part in the sex trafficking scheme — within 30 days.
The bill would allow the DOJ to redact information that could compromise a victim’s identity or depict abuse, but it would have to formally justify its redactions to Congress.
“No record shall be withheld, delayed, or redacted on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary,” the legislation states.
The Epstein saga has, in part, been complicated by President Donald Trump’s ties to the disgraced financier. Trump has maintained that he had a falling out with Epstein, who died by suicide behind bars in 2019 after new sex crimes charges.
Some attendees at the Wednesday press conference held signs that appeared to mock Trump, showing a photo of him and first lady Melania Trump beside Epstein and Maxwell or alleging that the President is on the so-called Epstein list. The Justice Department has said it did not find evidence of the sort of incriminating list.
“The Washington establishment is asking the American public to believe something that is not believable,” Massie said. “They’re asking you to believe that two individuals created hundreds of victims, and they acted alone, and that the DOJ has no idea of who else might’ve been involved.”
Epstein’s victims joined Massie, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to call for the full release of the files. Responding to Trump’s comments that the Epstein matter was a “hoax,” Haley Robson, one of the women who has accused Epstein of sexual abuse, invited Trump to meet with her in person to hear about her experience. She noted she was a registered Republican.
“Please humanize us,” Robson said. “I would like Donald J. Trump and every person in America and around the world to humanize us. To see us for who we are, and to hear us for what we have to say. There is no hoax. The abuse was real.”
Chauntae Davies, another accuser, said that Epstein would brag about his close friendship with Trump and “had an 8 by 10 framed picture of him on his desk with the two of them.” Davies also said she joined a trip to Africa with Epstein, former President Bill Clinton and others.
Brittany Henderson — an attorney who has worked for some of Epstein’s accusers — suggested at the Wednesday press event it was possible to withhold the identities of some victims without making wholesale redactions designed to shield those who should be held accountable.
“Protect these women while we seek transparency,” Henderson said.
Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.
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