A special election last month secured Representative Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) the 218 votes needed to force a vote on releasing all Justice Department files on Jeffrey Epstein. But Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva has still not been sworn in, and Massie suspects Speaker Mike Johnson has a specific reason for the delay.
Massie said in an X post he published Monday, “Contrary to what he says, Speaker Johnson is doing everything he can, including delaying the swearing in of the most recently elected member of Congress and spreading misinformation about the legislation, to block a vote in Congress on legislation to release the Epstein files.”
Grijalva told CNN on Monday that she doesn’t know when she’ll be sworn in and has not heard from Johnson’s office.
This kind of delay is not normal. Spectrum News reported:
Grijalva joined other House Democrats in pointing out that three other new members who voters elected in special elections in recent months were sworn in the day after their victories. Those include Florida Republican Reps. Randy Fine and Jimmy Patronis, who replaced former Reps. Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz, as well as Democratic Rep. James Walkinshaw of Virginia. Fine and Patronis were both sworn in during what is known as pro forma sessions, which allows the House to quickly gavel-in on out-of-session weeks when it does not have other legislative business scheduled.
Democrats have been pressuring Johnson to swear Grijalva in. Representative Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) wrote a letter telling the speaker that Grijalva’s constituents have been “unnecessarily” deprived of representation, adding that his decision “calls into question if the motive behind the delay is to further avoid the release of the Epstein files.”
And a large number of House Democrats sent Johnson a letter last week asking him to do the same. The letter doesn’t mention Epstein. It only points out that this is not normal protocol and that the people in Grijalva’s district deserve representation.
Massie said late in September, after Grijalva’s victory, that GOP leaders were “in full panic” and that Republican co-signers of the petition had been “politically ‘threatened.'” Massie included, only four Republican representatives signed the petition. The others are Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, and Lauren Boebert of Colorado. The discharge petition would force House members to vote on a resolution dubbed the “Epstein Files Transparency Act,” which would make publicly available, with a few exceptions, all Epstein files in the Justice Department’s possession.
Johnson said in a recent MSNBC interview that he’s for “maximum disclosure” regarding the Epstein files. But he also stressed that the government has a duty to protect victims. The Epstein Files Transparency Act includes a clause to redact information about victims. It also withholds information that may pose national security risks, a caveat some worry may be abused. You can read more about the resolution in our previous report, “Arizona Special Election Secures Thomas Massie Enough Signatures for Epstein Disclosure Vote.”
Congressional Republicans are supporting Epstein Files release efforts through the House Oversight Committee, chaired by Kentucky Republican James Comer. But Massie has criticized other efforts as a sneaky way for the Trump DOJ to curate what comes out.
Democratic members in the Senate Judiciary Committee asked Attorney General Pam Bondi several Epstein-related questions during a hearing Tuesday. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, citing reports, asked if the FBI had photos of President Donald Trump with “half-naked young women.” Bondi shot back at Whitehouse, accusing him of slander. She also said he took money from Epstein associate, LinkedIn co-founder, and Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman. Whitehouse asked the question a second time, but Bondi never gave a direct answer.
Committee members asked Bondi other questions related to the Trump-Epstein connection, but received a lot a pushback and very few answers.