House Duo Resurrects Epstein Discharge Petition Effort

As lawmakers return to the Capitol after the long August recess, it appears the Jeffrey Epstein controversy just won’t die.

On Monday, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., announced he would file a petition to force a House vote on a bill introduced by him and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., to compel the Justice Department to release additional files on the now-deceased convicted sex offender.

Democrats have sought to weaponize the Epstein transparency issue against President Donald Trump’s administration, while some Republicans who have demanded the release of the files for years support a vote on the bill.

“I am in D.C., and I will file the discharge petition today, Sept. 2nd, at approximately 2 p.m. when Congress officially returns from the August recess,” wrote Massie on the social media platform X. “At that point, we can begin collecting the 218 signatures necessary to force a vote on binding legislation to release the Epstein files.”

Massie and Khanna’s discharge petition would force consideration of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a resolution that currently has 47 co-sponsors. This resolution, if passed, would then initiate a vote on releasing documents.

A discharge petition, traditionally a tool of the minority party, is a relatively rarely used measure, ordinarily intended to bypass House and committee leadership.

Eleven of the Epstein Files Transparency Act’s sponsors are Republicans, with the remaining 36—including the District of Columbia’s nonvoting congressional delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton—being Democrats.

As he left for recess in late July, Massie told reporters that the issue would not go away.

“Over the August recess, I think momentum will build for transparency. I don’t think this is going to go away,” he told reporters. “We’ll get, I believe, every Democrat and at least a dozen Republicans who want transparency and justice [to support this bill].”

If support holds strong for the petition, then Massie could have the signatures necessary to force consideration of his bill. 

Massie is set to speak at the Capitol alongside Khanna and a number of Epstein accusers on Wednesday morning, at which the congressmen will likely demand a vote on the bill. 

The Washington Post, citing an anonymous “senior leadership aide,” has reported that these accusers will also meet with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky.

Massie and Khanna’s continued push for consideration of their resolution comes after the White House and House Republican leadership have taken additional steps to provide satisfaction on the Epstein issue.

The White House, responding to a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee, has transferred previously unreleased files to the panel.

“I want to commend the Department of Justice,” Comer said in a recent interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” program. “[Attorney General] Pam Bondi has started turning over those documents to the House Oversight Committee. I subpoenaed those documents. The Trump administration is cooperating with us.”

During the August recess, the administration also released transcripts of an interview by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s associate and now-imprisoned accomplice.

Additionally, House leadership has scheduled a vote on a bill directing the Oversight Committee to “continue its ongoing investigation into the possible mismanagement of the federal government’s investigation” into Epstein and Maxwell.

Massie responded to the bill Tuesday on X, calling it a “meaningless vote to provide political cover for those members who don’t support our bipartisan legislation to force the release of the Epstein files.”

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