Epstein Files Bill Has Required Signatures Needed to Force House Vote, GOP Rep. Claims — After Explosive Report on Predator Is Released

Outgoing Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie has confirmed he now has enough signatures to ensure a vote that could force the release of the remaining Justice Department files related to Jeffrey Epstein, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

After the Justice Department claimed it had turned over all materials tied to Epstein, as required under the Epstein Transparency Act, Massie claimed there is still a trove of information that is being kept secret – allegedly in an attempt to shield President Trump.

Massie launched a discharge petition over the summer to force a vote on the bill, known as the Epstein Files Transparency Act II. On Wednesday, California Rep. John Garamendi became the 218th and final necessary signature on the petition.

All 214 House Democrats signed the petition, along with four Republicans. In addition to Massie, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, both from South Carolina, added their John Hancocks to the document.

The bill would allow Epstein victims, prosecutors, and lawmakers to sue the Attorney General over withheld files, give survivors access to unredacted records, and expose DOJ and FBI officials to criminal penalties for deliberately concealing or destroying evidence. It would also prevent officials from exploiting legal loopholes to keep documents buried.

"Survivors will be able to get their own records, State Attorneys General can prosecute crimes, and we can take the DOJ to court for keeping critical files hidden," said Massie.

Massie announced the Epstein Files Transparency Act II in July, which he co-authored alongside Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM).

"Since the Epstein Files Transparency Act was signed into law on November 19, 2025, the Department of Justice has flagrantly and consistently ignored EFTA's disclosure requirements," he said in a statement at the time.

Massie continued, "The Department of Justice continues to unlawfully withhold over 3 million Epstein files that should be released to the public. In addition, the DOJ is unlawfully maintaining heavy redactions on the files it is releasing. State attorneys general and victims should have the right to sue the Attorney General of the United States to compel compliance with a transparency law President Trump signed."

Khanna claimed at the time, "DOJ has violated our law, delayed the release of millions of files, botched the redactions, and denied the survivors justice."

Earlier this year, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi and then-Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers the DOJ had turned over all materials tied to Epstein as required under the Epstein Transparency Act.

The massive dump of materials included a sweeping list of public figures whose names appeared in the files – from presidents like Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, to Hollywood celebrities including George Clooney, Robert De Niro, Alec Baldwin, Barbra Streisand, and Bruce Springsteen.

The Justice Department insisted at the time nothing was hidden for political reasons, posting in a statement, "No records were withheld or redacted on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity."

The rollout of the Epstein documents was, and continues to be, riddled with controversy, redactions, and delays. Since the release of the heavily-redacted files, DOJ officials have been accused of "doing everything they can to keep the American people in the dark."

A federal judge ruled in June that the DOJ was violating the Epstein Files Transparency Act by not producing certain unredacted and foreign-language documents. But instead of waiting for the legal system to run its course, Massie submitted his discharge petition as a workaround.

House Judiciary Committee Democrats have also called for an independent special counsel to investigate Blanche for possible "criminal obstruction of justice" after allegedly protecting Trump from the Epstein scandal.

An over 50-page unsigned staff report declared, "Attorney General Blanche may have engaged in criminal obstruction of justice while acting on a mission to protect Trump," and made "desperate efforts" to cover up Trump's name "emerging" in the Epstein files.

Specifically, they argued Blanche's meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell "potentially constituted witness tampering and obstruction of an official proceeding." Blanche allegedly instructed Maxwell "not to discuss a specific Epstein victim, and how that victim could implicate Donald Trump."