After years of whispers and shadows, the push to unseal Jeffrey Epstein’s files has just crashed through a major barrier in the House.
The Hill reported that on Wednesday, a discharge petition to force a vote on releasing Department of Justice records tied to Epstein and his associates, including Ghislaine Maxwell, hit the magic number of 218 signatures, setting up a dramatic showdown next week.
This effort, spearheaded by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), gained traction with bipartisan support, though not without a fight from GOP leadership and even the White House.
The final signature came from Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who inked her name on the petition right after being sworn in, with Democrats cheering and Epstein survivors watching from the gallery.
Grijalva didn’t mince words, declaring, “Justice cannot wait another day.” While her passion is understandable, let’s hope this isn’t just grandstanding—real transparency must prioritize victims over political points.
Joining her were all House Democrats and a handful of Republicans, including Reps. Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), and Nancy Mace (S.C.), showing that some on the right still value truth over party lines.
Behind the scenes, the Trump administration scrambled to stop the petition, with the president himself reaching out to Mace and officials like Attorney General Pam Bondi targeting Boebert for meetings.
Yet, both representatives held firm, keeping their names on the list—a rare moment of backbone against executive pressure.
If anything, this resistance from the top raises eyebrows about what might be in those files, though White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted, “These emails prove absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong.”
On the House floor, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) tried to fast-track the Epstein Files Transparency Act with a unanimous consent request, only to be shut down by the chair, Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), for procedural reasons.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) later pointed fingers at Democrats for allegedly blocking the move, though the chair clarified no side could be blamed without proper clearance.
Johnson eventually relented, announcing a full vote for next week—earlier than the discharge petition’s timeline would have allowed, which could have delayed things to December.
The bill itself aims to release unclassified records on Epstein’s criminal network, while smartly including safeguards to redact victims’ personal details and any material depicting child abuse.
With broad support now evident—both parties predict a wave of Republican votes in favor—passage in the House seems likely, though the Senate and President Trump’s opposition loom large.
For conservatives wary of overreach, this bill strikes a balance: it demands accountability without turning into a witch hunt, but its fate beyond the House remains a steep climb against establishment pushback.