The Jeffrey Epstein story, and Donald Trump’s connection to it, has largely been out of the news in recent weeks, after it made headlines throughout the summer and caused great embarrassment to the president. But it jumped back into the headlines this week, for several reasons.
A group of Epstein victims, along with their attorneys, held a press conference outside the Capitol on Wednesday, which included some victims coming forward publicly for the first time. Also, a House committee released a new tranche of files related to the Epstein case, although it appeared that most of what was released was already public information.
In addition, there’s a bipartisan effort in Congress, led by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), to pass legislation to release all of the government’s Epstein files within 30 days. Most Democrats support the effort while most Republicans oppose it, although Massie is known for frequently bucking Trump and the GOP leadership.
“Massie and his Democratic co-author, Rep. Ro Khanna … need at least 218 signatures — half the members of the House — to force a vote, and Khanna told NBC he is certain that all 212 Democrats will sign on, along with at least six Republicans.”https://t.co/QZV0hIdqlu
— Allan Smith (@akarl_smith) September 2, 2025
Stay up-to-date with the latest news!
Subscribe and start recieving our daily emails.
Per NBC News, Massie made a new push for a discharge petition to release the files on Tuesday. That would allow half the House to vote to force a floor vote.
The White House is opposed to Massie’s push, and a spokesperson told NBC their view of Republicans who join in Massie’s effort.
“Helping Thomas Massie and Liberal Democrats with their attention-seeking, while the DOJ is fully supporting a more comprehensive file release effort from the Oversight Committee, would be viewed as a very hostile act to the administration,” the White House statement said.
Trump, who was friends with Epstein for many years in the 1990s and early 2000s before Epstein’s first arrest, has referred to the entire Epstein matter as a “hoax.”
The Jeffrey Epstein saga picked up steam again this week as Congress returns from summer recess.https://t.co/n8PDJCR4zC
— Axios (@axios) September 3, 2025
“It doesn’t change a thing,” Massie told reporters on Tuesday, per Politico, about the House committee’s release of old documents. “It’s giving political cover for some people, but that’s fleeting, because eventually people are going to pore through those documents and find out there’s nothing new in there.”
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
