The House of Representatives is set to vote on a second Epstein files bill after lawmakers forced a vote through a discharge petition.
Politico reports that Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) signed the 218th signature on the petition to force a vote on Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY)’s Epstein Files Transparency Act II.
Only four Republicans, Thomas Massie, Nancy Mace (SC), Ralph Norman (SC), and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), signed the discharge petition.
Previously, Massie’s Epstein Files Transparency Act was passed and signed into law, requiring the Justice Department to release the Epstein files to the public.
However, some lawmakers accuse the Justice Department of redacting or withholding over 2.5 million pages of documents.
Politico reports the new bill “allows survivors of Epstein’s abuse and state attorneys general to file federal lawsuits against the Justice Department to force the release of additional materials related to Epstein, among other measures. It also gives members of Congress the ability to demand unredacted files from the department.
This comes after the House Oversight Committee on Tuesday released a 137-page report on its 15-month investigation, titled “A Review of the Federal Government’s Mishandling of the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell Criminal Investigations.”
