Democrats are demanding Republicans release the remaining Jeffrey Epstein files in an endeavor putting GOP lawmakers in a tough spot.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said over the weekend that he’d introduce an amendment that would force a House vote on forcing Attorney General Pam Bondi to release all the remaining case files on the sex offender, whose 2019 death while awaiting trial for sweeping sex trafficking charges set off years of speculation about other public figures being involved.
“Why are the Epstein files still hidden? Who are the rich & powerful being protected?” Khanna wrote on social media Sunday while announcing his plans. A vote would “put every Congress member on record” about making the files public, he continued.
Khanna’s demands come a week after Bondi’s Department of Justice announced it had found no evidence of a “client list” that Epstein might have used to blackmail well-known people or indications that Epstein’s death was not really a suicide and that it was effectively closing the case and not releasing any more files. The decision set off a flurry of outrage from both the left and the right.
Khanna’s office shared the amendment Monday with HuffPost. It would be attached to a cryptocurrency bill coming under review by the House Rules Committee. If passed, it would force Bondi to “retain, preserve, and compile any records” related to the Epstein case and release them to the public within 30 days of the bill’s passage.
But the panel blocked Khanna’s amendment, with only one Republican, Rep. Ralph Norman (S.C.), voting in favor of the files’ release.
“This may have been the first attempt that was blocked, but I’ll tell you, it’s not going to be the last attempt,” Khanna told MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell on Monday night.
Rep. Marc Veasey (D-Texas) also announced on social media that he would be introducing a resolution Monday demanding the release of the files.
“Either [President Donald Trump] and his acolytes fueled the rumors of the significance of these Epstein files to help his campaign, or something is there!” he wrote, suggesting the possibility of a cover-up.
While this effort is also unlikely to succeed, it would force the nine Republicans on the Rules Committee again to side with either the Trump administration or the president’s base, which has grown increasingly frustrated with Bondi’s handling of the case in the past few days.
Trump fueled the outrage over his Justice Department’s decision with a lengthy social media post on Saturday. After his administration hyped up the possibility of the files containing some bombshell revelations, he pulled a 180 on his supporters and dismissed the importance of the Epstein files altogether.
“For years, it’s Epstein, over and over again,” Trump wrote. “Why are we giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden administration.”
Trump’s remarks came a day after FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino’s alleged fight with Bondi over the files made headlines. Bongino ― a former podcaster who’d speculated on his show about an Epstein cover-up ― reportedly didn’t show up to work Friday and told people he’d quit if Bondi is not fired.