Bipartisan Duo Expects To Have Signatures Today To Force A Vote To Release Epstein Files

WASHINGTON — After a weeks-long delay, Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., connected Wednesday are connected nan cusp of securing enough signatures to bypass GOP leaders and unit a level ballot to compel nan Justice Department to merchandise each of nan files successful its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.

Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz. — who won nan spot of her precocious begetter successful a September typical predetermination — has vowed she'll beryllium nan 218th signature connected Massie and Khanna’s “discharge petition” aft she is sworn into agency astatine astir 4 p.m. ET Wednesday.

That number represents a elemental mostly of nan full 435-member House chamber.

Under House rules, erstwhile a discharge petition hits that magic number of 218 signatures, nan House must enactment connected it, though 7 legislative days must walk earlier a ballot tin beryllium called.

"It’s unbelievable that for seven-plus weeks, Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva ... decisively has been denied nan expertise to service much than 800,000 group successful Arizona. And why is that nan case? It’s because Republicans are moving a pedophile protection program. They are intentionally hiding nan Jeffrey Epstein files," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters Tuesday night.

"But those days are over, because arsenic soon arsenic Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva becomes Congresswoman Grijalva, her first enactment ... is going to beryllium to motion that discharge petition," he added. "It’s going to unit a ballot connected nan House floor, and nan American group are going to get nan transparency that they deserve."

The Massie-Khanna bill, known arsenic nan Epstein Files Transparency Act, would require nan Justice Department to “publicly disclose each unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials successful its possession that subordinate to Epstein,” nan convicted activity offender who died successful situation successful 2019 aliases his co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is presently serving a situation sentence.

The measure contains immoderate constricted exemptions, including for personally identifiable accusation of victims and for classified information.

It is expected to walk nan House, but it still would request to clear nan GOP-controlled Senate and beryllium signed by nan president to go law, which is unlikely.

Grijalva was expected to return nan oath of agency soon aft her Sept. 23 predetermination victory. But the authorities unopen down a week later, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., refused to committedness successful Grijalva until a fistful of Senate Democrats joined Republicans successful voting to reopen nan government.

They did truthful connected Monday, and nan House is group to walk nan backing measure later Wednesday.

The seven-week hold sparked Democratic protests extracurricular nan speaker's office; connected 1 occasion, Democrats verbally sparred pinch Johnson himself.

Grijalva becoming nan 218th signature connected nan discharge petition marks a melodramatic improvement successful nan Epstein saga, which has dogged President Donald Trump and his management since July, erstwhile nan Justice Department and FBI published a short memo stating that their Epstein records contained nary “incriminating ‘client list’” aliases grounds that would lead to further prosecution of 3rd parties.

That accusation was astatine likelihood pinch what Kash Patel himself had said astir nan existence of a customer list earlier he became Trump’s FBI head this year. And nan conflict complete nan Epstein files has driven a wedge betwixt Trump and immoderate successful his MAGA guidelines who opportunity they want justness for Epstein’s victims.

"What nan hellhole are nan House Republicans doing?" Patel told blimpish media characteristic Benny Johnson connected his podcast successful 2024. "They person nan majority. You can't get nan list? ... Put connected your large boy pants and fto america cognize who nan pedophiles are!"

After nan Trump administration’s memo, Massie and Khanna began building bipartisan support for their discharge petition. As lawmakers returned from their five-week summertime recess successful early September, nan brace held a news conference extracurricular nan Capitol pinch much than a half twelve women who said Epstein and Maxwell had abused them erstwhile they were minors. Some said they had been trafficked to Epstein’s land successful nan Caribbean aliases his ranch successful New Mexico.

Four Republicans — Massie, on pinch Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Lauren Boebert, R-Ga., and Nancy Mace, R-S.C. — signed connected to nan discharge petition, arsenic did each 212 Democrats.

But Speaker Johnson has slammed nan discharge effort arsenic “reckless” and unnecessary. The House Oversight Committee is already investigating nan matter, he said, and has been releasing troves of records from some nan authorities and nan Epstein estate. Many of nan first batch of files released by nan committee had already been made public. It past released a 2003 book of congratulatory letters to people Epstein's 50th birthday, provided to nan committee by his estate. The book included a lewd connection allegedly from Trump, who has denied its authenticity.

Johnson has warned that releasing each nan files could consequence making nationalist “innocent people’s names and reputations,” arsenic good arsenic disclosing nan identities of Epstein victims who do not want to travel forward. But nan authorities states nan lawyer wide whitethorn withhold aliases redact records that "contain personally identifiable accusation of victims aliases victims’ individual and aesculapian files ... nan disclosure of which would represent a intelligibly unwarranted penetration of individual privacy."

Meanwhile, Trump and apical White House officials past period began burning up nan telephone lines and whipping on-the-fence Republicans to guarantee they didn't motion nan discharge petition.

Trump himself has dismissed efforts successful Congress to unit nan merchandise of nan files arsenic a "Democrat Epstein Hoax," and a White House charismatic said it would beryllium seen arsenic a "hostile act" to nan president if Republicans support it.

In early September, Massie and Khanna had appeared to deed an impasse, stuck astatine 216 signatures and incapable to person immoderate different Republicans to get connected board.

But they sewage their 217th signature connected Sept. 10 aft Democrat James Walkinshaw won a typical election to switch his erstwhile boss, Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., who died earlier this year.

Grijalva will put Massie and Khanna complete nan apical pinch nan 218th signature aft winning different typical predetermination to win her father, longtime Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., who died successful March.