Massie attempts second discharge petition to compel release of missing Epstein Files

Kentucky GOP Rep. Thomas Massie launched Monday his second discharge petition that would force the Justice Department to release the remainder of its files on Jeffrey Epstein and provide transparency.

Massie filed his first discharge petition last year, which compelled the government to release all documents regarding Epstein and his sex-trafficking crimes. A discharge petition requires 218 signatures and forces a bill or resolution to be brought directly to the House floor for consideration, even if it's previously been held up in the committee process.

The second petition is designed to force the release of files the government has redacted and gives state attorneys general, Epstein’s victims and members of Congress standing to challenge the Justice Department in court over aspects of the original law it has not followed.

“I never anticipated that the highest law enforcement officer in the land would not enforce the law once it became a law. That’s what this addresses. We try to dot the i’s and cross the t’s here,” Massie told The Washington Times. “This is somewhat unprecedented that Todd Blanche is stonewalling a state attorney general, so this unambiguously gives the attorneys general in the various states the ability to prosecute these crimes by giving them unfettered access to the files."

Massie said the follow-up petition also makes it clear that the department cannot assert deliberative process or any other common law privilege as a reason for withholding files.

The Kentucky conservative only needs to flip three Republican votes to bring the legislation to the floor if all Democrats sign onto the petition.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.