A House vote on releasing the government’s remaining files on Jeffrey Epstein is inevitable, the Republican pushing its paperwork claims.
Representatives Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., are collaborating to encourage Republicans and Democrats to support a discharge petition aimed at compelling a vote to release further documents related to the late, disgraced pedophile.
If the petition gets 218 signatures, the bill can go to the House floor regardless of what GOP leadership wants. It currently has 216 signatures.
This cuts against both the desires of the Trump administration and Speaker Mike Johnson, who have both publicly condemned the maneuver.
The former clearly wants the Epstein saga dropped altogether, while the latter wants to avoid having his control of the floor usurped.
However, it seems unlikely that the influential Republicans will succeed in stopping the petition, which is advancing rapidly and may secure enough votes by the end of September.
With two vacant House seats likely to be filled by Democrats in Virginia and Arizona this month, Massie expects the bill will undoubtedly come to a vote.
Massie has been working to gather signatures for a petition to force a House vote on releasing additional Epstein-related files
Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., have both been helping Massie advocate for the Epstein file vote
‘We don’t need any more signatures,’ the Kentucky Republican told a throng of reporters on Tuesday.
‘We’re going to get to vacancies filled and they’ll sign it,’ he said of the expected incoming Democrats.
‘We’ll reach 218, and then individuals will have to decide whether they will vote in favor of or against this discharge petition,’ Massie stated.
A special election in Virginia’s 11th congressional district is taking place on Tuesday to succeed the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, who died earlier this year after battling cancer.
James Walkinshaw, Connolly’s former chief of staff, is expected to win the deep blue district.
The former chief of staff told Axios he would vote for the discharge petition if he takes office.
Similarly, Arizona’s 7th congressional district is having a special election on September 23.
The seat is expected to go to Democrat Adelita Grijalva, who is running for her late father’s seat. She also committed to backing the petition.
Last week, Massie and Khanna hosted a press conference with nearly a dozen survivors of Epstein’s abuse
Jeffrey Epstein exploited over 1,000 victims, and according to federal authorities, his only known accomplice in these crimes is his long-term associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.
The petition would force a full vote on a bill that instructs the Department of Justice to release all of its remaining files, barring some to protect victims. The measure, if passed into law, would require the DOJ to post the unseen files online within 30 days.
Still, Trump could attempt to pressure the GOP members who have signed the petition to flip their votes.
Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert and Nancy Mace have all signed on.
All three like to boast their connections to the White House, and staying on board with Massie may make them personae non gratae around the capital.
Johnson could also work to kill the petition with some parliamentary tactics, though how he would is unclear.
The DOJ has already turned over 32,000 pages of Epstein-related files to the House Oversight Committee, which has published some of the documents.
Epstein’s estate similarly handed over a new trove of files to Congress on Monday.
Included in the latest release was information on Epstein’s 50th birthday book, which includes an interesting letter from Trump, though the administration claims the letter is a hoax.
