News

Republicans Block Epstein File Discharge Petition

September 9, 2025

264

Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie and Democrat California Rep. Ro Khanna’s discharge petition, which would force the government to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, has 215 signatures — three short of the majority.

As of publication, Massie is one of only four Republicans in the House to sign the petition, compared with 211 of 212 House Democrats. Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace and Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene joined Massie in signing the petition.

https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1965402435255767041

From colleague Tyler Olson. The discharge petition from Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) to force a House vote on releasing the Epstein files is at 215 signatures this morning — three short of the 218 they need.

Massie, Boebert, Mace and GreeneGa remain the only…

— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) September 8, 2025

The Daily Caller asked Rep. Massie whether he is confident the petition will ultimately reach the 218 signatures needed, and if pushback from House leadership suggests it’s unlikely to succeed.

“During our appearance on ABC yesterday, my colleague Rep. Ro Khanna announced we will have the 218 votes needed for the Epstein discharge petition by the end of this month,” Massie told the Caller in a statement. “When this vote happens, will your congressman vote for transparency and justice… or against?”

The petition titled “Epstein Files Transparency Act” was filed on July 15 to push the House to vote on fully releasing all files relating to Epstein.

Khanna joined forces with Massie to submit the resolution, which would need at least 218 House signatures — a simple majority — to reach the floor for a vote.

“We have the 218 votes, 216 already support it. There are two vacancies that haven’t been reported as much, but two Democrats are going to be joining and they are both committed to signing it,” Khanna told ABC News Sunday.

Democratic California Rep. Eric Swalwell, who was absent last week following the death of his mother, stated in a post on X that he will sign the petition he co-sponsored once he returns to Washington, D.C., which would bring the total of signatures to 216.

I shared this morning on @ThisWeekABC with @RepThomasMassie that we have the 218 votes for the release of the Epstein files.

We need a society where people don’t feel they can take advantage of young girls just because they are rich and have political contacts. pic.twitter.com/FPhRvCgloT

— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) September 7, 2025

Massie has also clashed with President Donald Trump over a resolution he introduced to unseal all government documents related to Epstein and his alleged network.

Trump singled out Massie by name on a Truth Social post, calling him “the worst Republican Congressman, and an almost guaranteed NO VOTE each and every time, is an Embarrassment to Kentucky,” while suggesting he might endorse a challenger against him.

Massie walked around the halls of a congress in July with a binder titled “The Epstein Files: Phase 2” and handed out leaflets breaking down the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The legislation would prevent records from being withheld for political reasons and require Attorney General (AG) Pam Bondi to provide an unclassified summary of any classified material.

Within 30 days of the law’s enactment, the Attorney General must make all unclassified Department of Justice (DOJ) records — including those from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices — publicly available in a searchable and downloadable format, subject to certain exceptions.

Release phase 2 of the Epstein files. https://t.co/aM0gwwclcO

— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) July 22, 2025

The resolution allows the Bondi to withhold or redact portions of records that include child sexual abuse material (CSAM), rape, physical abuse or death, as well as any personally identifiable information of victims. It also covers information that could jeopardize active federal investigations or prosecutions, in addition to materials relevant to national defense or foreign policy.

The House Oversight Committee released thousands of subpoenaed records related to Epstein obtained from the DOJ on September 2.

The committee confirmed on August 22 that it received the documents, which totaled more than 33,295 pages.

The Caller reached out to Swalwell for comment but did not receive a response prior to publication.

The Caller also reached out to House Speaker and Republican Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson’s office, which pointed the Caller to his previous comments to Punchbowl News.

“It should be stopped because it’s superfluous,” Johnson stated. “It’s not necessary. The developments over August, as we knew would happen, have made that effectively a moot point. The vote last night was very important because we’ve endorsed the oversight committee. This is a truly and totally bipartisan effort to dig into the facts and release all the documents to the American public, but it’s got to be done in a responsible manner. My problem with the discharge petition is that it does not do that. It does not adequately protect the innocent victims.”