Massie continues with legislative move to make public all Epstein files as House releases new batch

Representative Thomas Massie, R-Ky., forged ahead Tuesday with a legislative maneuver to try to force the House to require the Justice Department to make public all records related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, unmoved by fellow House Republicans' efforts to release more files.

"It’s filed," Massie said on the social media platform X. "Your congressman can now sign the discharge petition to force a vote on binding legislation to release the Epstein files."

A discharge petition is a procedural tool that can be used in the House. It lets a majority of members force a bill out of committee and onto the House floor for a final vote. It requires 218 signatures to move forward. 

If the discharge petition works and moves forward, the House would be voting on the "The Epstein Files Transparency Act," which would require the Attorney General to disclose to the public all documents, communications and investigative materials that are in the possession of the DOJ, FBI and United States Attorneys’ Offices.

Hours after Massie made the announcement, House Republicans released the first batch of Epstein files. On Aug. 22, the Department of Justice delivered the first batch of Epstein files to Congress. The House Oversight Committee took over a week to review the roughly 33,000 files.

Epstein died in a New York correctional center in August 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. Officials say Epstein, who was already a convicted sex offender, died by hanging himself. 

While alive, Epstein maintained friendships with many high-profile men, which has led some to believe that he left behind a damaging "client list" with their names on it.  

President Trump has taken heat from some of his supporters for having made campaign promises to uncover hidden details about Epstein, only to have officials in his administration say there's no list of people for whom Epstein provided young women for sex and that he died by suicide. 

Massie has been one of the main voices advocating for the full release of the Epstein files, along with Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. They plan to hold a Capitol Hill press conference Wednesday with 10 of Epstein's victims.

"I pray @SpeakerJohnson will listen to the pleas of these victims for justice and quit trying to block a vote on our legislation to release the Epstein files," Massie wrote on X.

While Massie has been pushing for the release of all the files, some members of Congress have been working on an investigation into Epstein and getting more information on him. 

Last month, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., issued a subpoena to Epstein's estate as part of an investigation into potential mismanagement by the federal government looking into the disgraced financier. 

Comer subpoenaed former FBI Director Robert Mueller for more information about Epstein, but withdrew the subpoena after the Mueller family disclosed over the weekend that he has Parkinson’s disease and is unable to testify to Congress.

Before lawmakers left Washington for the August recess, House Democrats and some Republicans pushed for a floor vote to force the release of the files. However, GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson instead sent members home early amid the pressure.

Johnson told reporters that he would describe "virtually everything Thomas Massie says related to this issue as meaningless," and he defended how the administration and Congress have so far dealt with the documents.

"There's been a lot of things that transpired over the August district work period," he told CBS News. "The Oversight Committee is well underway, the administration is complying. The Department of Justice complied with all the subpoenas they received and are processing 34,000 documents already. And we're going to move that along as quickly as possible so that all of this is pushed out to the public so the American people can make their own decisions."