U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky is one step closer to forcing a House floor vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act II.
WHAS11's Isaiah Kim-Martinez caught up with the Republican congressman Monday on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Massie said he secured the signature of Republican U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina on his discharge petition to force the vote.
South Carolina U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace has already signed. Massie needs one more Republican assuming all Democrats also sign the petition.
He feels confident he can get the 218 signatures required for his discharge petition to succeed.
"What the Republicans really don't want to do is go into this election with the Epstein Files covered up -- Todd Blanche is still covering them up -- having every Democrat on this discharge petition and three Republicans," Massie said. "And needing only one more Republican. What that means is every Republican who's campaigning this fall is the holdout if we don't get to 218. What I'm offering to my colleagues is to be the hero."
The legislation would give state attorneys general access to the unredacted files to prosecute Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirators under state law, as opposed to trying cases in the federal system. On Monday, Massie singled out New Mexico, Florida and New York as states where crimes allegedly occurred.
Massie's biggest hurdle could be a race against time.
Last week, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) canceled the final two weeks of the current session. This week is the last opportunity to pass legislation before the November midterm elections.
Still Massie believes he can secure the support of one more Republican in the coming days.
"I told the public last week that Mike Johnson would end Congress early to keep me from getting 218 signatures," he said. "He denied it, but then he cut two weeks off our calendar. They're afraid I'll get to 218. Watch that number this week because I'm only one Republican shy."
The Department of Justice has shown little appetite to prosecute alleged crimes detailed in the first release of the files. Massie said Monday Attorney General Todd Blanche "won't even give survivors their own files."
