House petition for new Epstein files bill gets enough support to force vote

Washington — Republican Rep. Thomas Massie has secured enough support to force a vote on legislation that would compel the release of the remaining Justice Department files related to Jeffrey Epstein. 

Massie launched a discharge petition over the summer to circumvent leadership and force a vote on the bill, known as the Epstein Files Transparency Act II. 

In order to bring the legislation to the floor, the discharge petition needs 218 signatures. It hit that threshold Wednesday. Four Republicans, including Massie, and all Democrats have added their names. The other Republicans who signed on are Reps. Brian Fitzgerald of Pennsylvania, Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, both of South Carolina. 

The underlying bill allows members of Congress, state attorneys general and Epstein survivors to sue the Justice Department for failing to comply with the Epstein Transparency Act, which was signed into law nearly a year ago after lawmakers pulled a similar maneuver. 

Massie has accused the Justice Department of "flagrantly and consistently" ignoring the disclosure requirements of the law. 

"The Department of Justice continues to unlawfully withhold over 3 million Epstein files that should be released to the public," he said in a July statement. "In addition, the DOJ is unlawfully maintaining heavy redactions on the files it is releasing."