GOP congressman accuses White House of blocking Epstein files

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., took the White House to task this week for pressuring Republicans to oppose his bill requiring the release of all files tied to Jeffrey Epstein.

Speaking to reporters outside the Capitol Sept. 2, Massie said, “There are things that the White House doesn’t want out there that my legislation would cause to be released.”

In a Sept. 3 X post, Massie cited an NBC report quoting a White House official who reportedly warned Republicans that helping Massie’s effort “would be viewed as a very hostile act to the administration.” The statement said the Justice Department is “fully supporting a more comprehensive file release effort from the Oversight Committee.”

Massie responded by accusing the White House of “threatening anyone who helps bring true transparency and justice for the survivors.”

Massie filed a discharge petition Sept. 2 that could force the Justice Department to release all Epstein-related records if the petition receives 218 signatures.

As of Wednesday afternoon, 206 lawmakers had signed the petition, including Massie and three other Republicans: Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Lauren Boebert, R-Colo. All 212 Democrats are expected to sign, leaving the measure just two GOP signatures shy of triggering a floor vote. 

A discharge petition allows House members to bypass leadership and force a full vote on the floor. If the threshold of 218 signatures is met, there is a seven-day waiting period before the petition can be introduced, after which the House speaker has two days to bring it to the floor. 

The day Massie filed his petition, Sept. 2, the House Oversight Committee released more than 30,000 pages of Epstein-related material, including flight logs, court filings, and emails, in response to heavy public speculation surrounding Epstein’s death. But Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said at a Sept. 3 Capitol Hill event where dozens of people gathered to press for the petition’s passage that “less than 1%” of the Epstein files are public. 

At the same event, Greene said Epstein “somehow was able to walk among the most rich, powerful people, not only in America but foreign countries,” specifically citing Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Israel.

“The FBI, DOJ, and the CIA hold the truth,” Greene said, “and the truth, we are demanding, come out.” 

She later added, “This should never happen in America, and it should never be a political issue that divides us.”