Massie's discharge petition on Epstein files nears 218 signatures

Kentucky GOP Rep. Thomas Massie is now just one signature short of getting enough signatures to get his petition through the House to get the Justice Department to release all documents regarding late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

His so-called "discharge petition," if it gets 218 signatures, would lead to a full chamber vote on the request without the support the Republicans who lead the chamber.

The number of signatures increased to 217 late Wednesday when Virginia Democratic Rep. James Walkinshaw, who was recently sworn in after a special election Tuesday night, signed it, Massie told POLITICO.

“The discharge petition in the House ... is really the only mechanism to circumvent that ironclad control that Donald Trump has over my Republican colleagues,” Walkinshaw said.

The petition is set to reach the 218 threshold later this month, as a Democrat is expected to win the Sept. 23 special election to replace the late Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona.

Republican Reps. Lauren Boebert, of Colorado; Marjorie Taylor Greene, of Georgia, and Nancy Mace, of South Carolina, previously signed on to the petition and have indicated they won’t remove their names despite pressure from the White House.

House Rules Chairwoman Rep. Virginia Foxx, a North Carolina Republican, has said her panel will not turn off the discharge petition, which would block a floor vote on the bipartisan bill.

House Majority Leader Mike Johnson argues Massie’s effort is “moot,” as Republicans approved in a symbolic provision directing the House Oversight Committee to continue its Epstein investigation.