House effort to force vote on releasing Epstein files can advance

A bipartisan House effort to force a vote on releasing more files related to the federal government’s investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein can now move forward.

A discharge petition — a mechanism by which House lawmakers can circumvent the normal legislative process to compel votes — received the 218th signature needed to force a vote on the Epstein files on Wednesday. The newly sworn-in Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) provided the final signature, adding her name to a list of lawmakers that includes all 214 Democrats and four Republicans: Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Georgia), Lauren Boebert (Colorado), Nancy Mace (South Carolina) and Thomas Massie (Kentucky).

“That’s what the American people expect us to do: fight for them. That is why I will sign the discharge petition right now to release the Epstein files,” Grijalva said in a speech after being sworn in. “Justice cannot wait another day.”

Massie introduced the petition alongside Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) in July, and the lawmakers have agitated for greater transparency around the Epstein case, including by participating in a news conference with about a dozen of Epstein’s victims in early September.

Massie accused the White House of “scrambling” on Wednesday to stop the vote from happening but declined to say exactly what actions he believed it was taking.

“I’m little bit troubled that we’re trying to undo a shutdown here, and the most important thing at the White House was trying to stop a vote on releasing the Epstein files,” he said.

Now that the petition has 218 signatures, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is required by House rules to bring the Epstein-related measure to the floor after a period of seven legislative days, setting up a politically fraught vote that some Republican members have been trying to avoid since before the August recess. If enacted, the measure would require the attorney general to “release all documents and records in possession of the Department of Justice relating to Jeffrey Epstein,” minus identifiable information of the victims, within 30 days of the bill’s enactment.

Khanna said Wednesday that he was confident the measure would succeed in the House: “I think we could get 40 to 50 Republicans [to vote for the measure] once it’s on the floor of the House,” he told reporters ahead of Grijalva’s swearing in.

However, even if the legislation succeeds in the House, there is no guarantee of it leading to the full release of the Epstein files in the Justice Department’s possession. The bill would need to pass the Senate and be signed into law by President Donald Trump. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Trump have not expressed interest in advancing the legislation.

“I don’t know what their bill does over there, but I think that the Justice Department has released a lot of the information, and I’ve encouraged them to be as transparent as possible,” Thune said as the petition began to rapidly gain signatures in September. “There’s thousands of pages that have already been released.”

The discharge petition’s success was a striking defeat for Johnson who has repeatedly criticized Massie and Khanna’s effort as “moot” and “unnecessary.”

Johnson has encouraged his conference to support the work of the House Oversight Committee, which is in the midst of its own monthslong inquiry into Epstein. A resolution in support of the Oversight investigation passed in early September.

The Oversight Committee has released a number of documents obtained during the course of its probe. These include a book of birthday greetings said to be from prominent Epstein associates that had a note signed “Donald.” (Trump denies the note was from him and has sued the two Wall Street Journal reporters who first wrote about the note, as well as Dow Jones, News Corp, and Rupert Murdoch. The suit is ongoing.)

Among other items, the committee has also released a federal nonprosecution agreement Epstein entered into; more than 33,000 pages of documents the federal government amassed in its Epstein investigation (Democrats have argued that most of these files were publicly available); flight logs and lists of appointments; as well as the transcripts of interviews the committee conducted with figures seen as having insight into investigations into Epstein.

Lawmakers supporting the discharge petition say the effort led by Massie and Khanna will result in the release of a more comprehensive set of documents than the Oversight inquiry.

Although Trump has been dismissive of efforts to release more Epstein files, referring to calls for greater public access as a “Democrat hoax that never ends,” House Republicans face pressure from their base over the documents.

Questions about Epstein’s death and activities have abounded on the right. Information that Trump’s Justice Department released about Epstein in July — including a memo that stated that Epstein died by suicide and that no list naming powerful associates who may have engaged in improper behavior with minors exists — did not quiet the concerns of large parts of the GOP base.

House Republicans and Democrats alike have said they face questions about the Epstein files from constituents. And women who have accused Epstein of abuse have also increased pressure on Congress to act. At their September news conference, several of Epstein’s victims asked lawmakers to support the Massie and Khanna effort and called for all Epstein files to be released.

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• Theodoric Meyer and Liz Goodwin contributed.