Massie crosses threshold to force House vote on full Epstein files release

Enough members of the House signed on to the discharge petition by lame-duck Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to force a floor vote on his Epstein Files Transparency Act II, which would compel the Justice Department to release the files it's still withholding related to the disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

CBS News reported four Republicans joined all Democrats in signing the discharge petition, reaching the magic number of 218 to circumvent GOP leadership. The bill lets members of Congress, state attorneys general and victims of Epstein to sue the Justice Department for failing to comply with the Epstein Transparency Act.

GOP Reps. Brian Fitzgerald of Pennsylvania, and Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman of South Carolina, joined Massie, who accuses DOJ of both unlawfully withholding more than three million Epstein files and heavily redacting those it's releasing.