Republican support rolls in for legislation to release Epstein files

Republican support is rolling in for a new legislative push in the House to direct the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release more files on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, despite President Trump’s urging to drop the matter.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who is leading the push with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), announced on social media Wednesday that five more Republicans had signed on to co-sponsor the measure: Reps. Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Jeff Van Drew (N.J.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Eric Burlison (Mo.), and Tim Burchett (Tenn.).

“The American people deserve full transparency,” Van Drew said in a post on the social platform X.

“I will never protect pedophiles or the elites and their circles,” Greene said in another post.

Their support for the matter comes despite Trump continuing to press supporters to drop their interest in the Epstein “hoax.” The issue has split the Republican Party, with members of the president's conservative base expressing outrage about the DOJ and FBI saying in a memo earlier this month that they would not release any more information about the Epstein case — much of which is under seal by courts.

Trump continued to fume about the matter on Truth Social on Wednesday, calling those fixed on the case his “PAST supporters” and asserting: “I don’t want their support anymore!”

Massie and Khanna have pledged to start a discharge petition to circumvent House Republican leadership and force a vote on the matter. The rarely successful mechanism requires 218 signatures — a majority of the House — to bypass House leadership and force a vote on a measure.

But if all Democrats support the discharge petition, only a handful of Republican votes would be needed to trigger the vote — making the support from the six Republicans particularly notable.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) made waves Tuesday when he said the Trump administration “should put everything out there and let the people decide," seemingly breaking with the White House.

On Wednesday, Johnson said his words were “misrepresented,” insisting there’s no daylight between his position and that of Trump. 

“Go watch the interview I did with Benny Johnson. I was very clear,” Johnson told reporters in the Capitol. “We’re for transparency. I’m saying the same thing the president is, that, I mean, you need to have all of the credible information released for the American people to make their decision. We trust the American people. And I know the president does, as well, that’s an important principle to abide by here.” 

The Massie and Khanna legislation would require Attorney General Pam Bondi to “make publicly available in a searchable and downloadable format all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in the possession of the Department of Justice, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Attorneys’ Offices” that have links with Epstein within 30 days of the measure becoming law.

It also says the files cannot “be withheld, delayed, or redacted” should they cause “embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.”