U.S. Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) is among the few House Republicans who is pushing for a complete release of documents held by the federal government related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Massie has been trying to get more Republicans to sign his discharge petition to force a congressional vote on the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act he co-sponsored with Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of New York. The bill would compel the release of the full cache of Epstein-related records.
MAGA-aligned Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), and Nancy Mace (R-SC) have signed the petition while House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has, according to Axios, “urged his Republican members to steer clear of the petition, arguing that Oversight’s probe will ultimately yield more information.”
[Note: The Oversight probe Johnson refers to leaves the distribution and disclosure of Epstein files content to the sole discretion of Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-KY), a devoted Donald Trump supporter, in a situation critics say is unlikely to produce real transparency.]
While President Trump, a former friend of Epstein, continues to refer to the Epstein Files as “a hoax” that was “made up” by former FBI Director James Comey, among others, Massie conducted a poll this weekend on X.
Massie posed the question: “Is it a hoax that Jeffrey Epstein was involved in underage sex trafficking, and there is unreleased evidence that would likely expose rich and politically connected perpetrators to indictments or convictions?”
With the results below (94 percent replied, “No, Release Epstein file”), Massie wrote: “The people know this is not a hoax (see poll), and as the survivors said this week, calling this a hoax dehumanizes the victims.”
On Wednesday, Massie led a press conference on the steps of the Capitol with some of the victims of Epstein and his former partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, whom President Donald Trump’s assistant Attorney General Todd Blanche recently interviewed in prison in Florida and then had moved to a lower security facility in Texas.
The conference was interrupted by a flyover of U.S. fighter jets, which one of the victims at the press conference responded to with a profane hand gesture.
According to Massie, misinformation on X followed his press conference — including a rumor it was attended by attorney Gloria Allred, who during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, represented three women who accused Trump of sexual misconduct-claims which Trump has denied.
One Trump supporter on X (“Gettysburg Obsessed”) replied to Massie’s poll: “Having Gloria Allred there says it may be a hoax.” Massie replied to the comment: “Allred was not at our press conference. I’m sorry you fell for that.”
Note: Allred appeared last month at a press conference with one of her clients, Alicia Arden, who says she filed a police report against Epstein in the late 1990s, after he allegedly committed sexual battery against her. At that press conference she called on the Trump administration to release the Epstein files.
2 paragraphs: GOP Congressman Releases Epstein Poll Results, “This Is Not a Hoax”
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