Massie secures 218 signatures to force vote on Epstein bill allowing lawsuits over withheld files

WASHINGTON, DC: Outgoing Republican Rep Thomas Massie on Wednesday, November 11, secured the 218 signatures required to force a House vote on new legislation seeking the release of additional Justice Department records related to Jeffrey Epstein.

The petition reached the threshold with all 214 House Democrats and four Republicans backing the measure.

The proposed Epstein Files Transparency Act II would create legal avenues for survivors, state attorneys general and members of Congress to challenge the department over records they believe remain undisclosed.

Thomas Massie secures 218 signatures for Epstein files vote

Massie announced that his discharge petition had reached the required number of signatures, allowing lawmakers to move forward with an effort to bring the legislation to the House floor without relying on support from Republican leadership.

“This morning we reached the required 218 signatures on my discharge petition for Epstein Files Transparency Act II,” Massie wrote on social media.

The final signatures came from Democrats Adam Smith and John Garamendi.

The four Republicans who signed the petition were Massie, Reps Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, and Brian Fitzpatrick. The remaining 214 signatures came from Democrats.

Massie said he was working with Democratic Reps Pramila Jayapal, Teresa Leger Fernandez and Ro Khanna to bring the legislation to a floor vote.

"I'm working closely with Rep Pramila Jayapal and Rep Teresa Leger Fernández and Rep Ro Khanna to get this to the floor for a vote soon," Massie wrote.

The bill follows the original Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Congress passed in November 2025 after a previous discharge petition led by Massie and Khanna secured enough signatures to force a vote.

The measure passed the House 427-1 and was subsequently signed into law by President Donald Trump.

It required the Justice Department to release its investigative records related to Epstein by December 19, 2025, subject to limited exceptions.

However, the Justice Department missed that deadline but later announced that it had released nearly 3.5 million pages in January.

Massie has accused the department of failing to comply fully with the disclosure requirements.

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

Epstein files bill could let survivors sue Justice Department

The proposed legislation would also allow Epstein survivors, state attorneys general and members of Congress to sue the Justice Department if they believe investigative records have been unlawfully withheld or excessively redacted.

It is also intended to give state prosecutors greater scope to pursue potential crimes connected to Epstein’s network.

Khanna, who co-sponsored the original legislation, previously said the new proposal would "allow state attorney generals to prosecute," violators like Epstein.

Massie has also said the measure would help survivors obtain their own records and enable legal challenges against the department over documents it continues to withhold.

The renewed push comes amid continuing criticism from survivors and lawmakers over the handling of the released files.

Some survivors have called for additional redactions after earlier disclosures revealed the identities of previously unidentified victims.

At the same time, Democrats have criticized redactions that they say conceal information about potential co-conspirators.