In a dramatic turn on Capitol Hill, the drive to force the release of government files relating to Jeffrey Epstein and his associates has reached a fever pitch, as bipartisan momentum and public scrutiny converge on Congress and the Department of Justice (DOJ). The push, spearheaded by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), has drawn an unusually broad coalition of lawmakers and ignited a fresh round of controversy following a secretly recorded video that casts doubt on the impartiality of the DOJ’s handling of these explosive records.
On September 3, 2025, Representatives Wesley Bell (D-MO) and Emilia Strong Sykes (D-OH) became the latest to join Massie’s bipartisan resolution, officially bringing the number of cosponsors to 50. According to official records, the coalition now includes 11 Republicans and 39 Democrats—a rare show of unity across the aisle on a matter fraught with political peril and public interest. As noted by congressional records, the support for H.Res.581 has been building steadily since mid-July, with lawmakers from both parties adding their names to the cause at a brisk pace.
This groundswell of support comes at a critical juncture. On September 2, Massie filed a discharge petition—a procedural move designed to bypass party leadership and force a floor vote on the resolution. This petition has rapidly gathered signatures and is now just shy of the threshold needed to trigger a binding vote, signaling the possibility that the House could soon be compelled to take action regardless of resistance from GOP leaders or the Trump administration. If passed, the legislation would require the public release of all government records related to Epstein and his network, sidestepping the political bottlenecks that have long stymied transparency efforts.
But the push for disclosure has collided with new controversy. On September 4, 2025, right-wing entrepreneur James O’Keefe published a secretly recorded video featuring Joseph Schnitt, the acting deputy chief of the DOJ’s Office of Enforcement Operations. In the video, Schnitt claims that the DOJ intends to redact any Republican or conservative names from the Epstein files, while leaving the names of liberal or Democratic figures visible. "If they’re released in any way, it’s going to be very redacted. They’ll redact every Republican or conservative person in those files, leave all the liberal Democratic people in those files," Schnitt is heard saying in the video, which he apparently believed was a private conversation with a dating app acquaintance—unaware he was speaking to an undercover O’Keefe operative.
The video’s release has poured gasoline on an already smoldering debate over transparency and political favoritism. According to HuffPost, conservative critics have seized on the footage as evidence of a cover-up, accusing the Trump administration and DOJ of shielding prominent Republicans from scrutiny while exposing Democrats. The fact that the administration had previously campaigned on promises to release the Epstein files in full has only fueled suspicions and sharpened the backlash from the right.
The DOJ, for its part, has attempted to tamp down the uproar. In a statement issued after the video’s publication, Schnitt clarified that his remarks were "my own personal comments on what I’ve learned in the media and not from anything I’ve done at or learned via work." The department itself went further, declaring that Schnitt’s comments "have absolutely zero bearing with reality and reflect a total lack of knowledge of the DOJ’s review process." Still, the damage was done: the video’s authenticity was confirmed, and the controversy has only heightened demands for unredacted transparency.
This is not the first time the DOJ’s handling of Epstein-related documents has come under fire. Earlier in 2025, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi stoked public anticipation by claiming to possess Epstein’s mythical "client list," only to later walk back those statements and announce that no new information would be forthcoming. In the ensuing months, the DOJ has provided heavily redacted materials to the House Oversight Committee, which began releasing some documents to the public in early September. Yet, as Rep. Massie told HuffPost, these materials have been "heavily curated" and filled with "unnecessary redactions," leaving many lawmakers and the public unsatisfied.
The list of cosponsors backing Massie’s resolution reads like a who’s who of both progressive and conservative firebrands, as well as establishment figures. From Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), the coalition reflects a broad spectrum of ideological interests. Notably, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) also joined the effort, signaling the issue’s resonance even among party leadership. The full roster of cosponsors, spanning from July 15 through September 3, 2025, underscores the growing consensus that the truth about Epstein’s connections must come to light, regardless of whose reputations may be at stake.
Still, the road to full disclosure remains fraught. The Trump administration’s refusal to release the documents in unredacted form has drawn sharp criticism not only from Democrats but from an increasingly vocal faction of Republicans. Some see the administration’s position as a betrayal of its own campaign rhetoric. As O’Keefe asked in his commentary accompanying the video, "Why is there suddenly this internal conflict within the same administration that aggressively campaigned in 2024 to fully release the Epstein files to the American public? What new revelations did the DOJ and FBI make now say that an incriminating client list does not exist?"
Meanwhile, the DOJ insists it is "committed to transparency and is in compliance with the House Oversight Committee’s request for documents." Yet, with hundreds of staffers reportedly combing through the files to identify references to Donald Trump and other high-profile figures, skepticism abounds about the department’s willingness to let the chips fall where they may. Spokespeople for the House Oversight Committee have so far declined to comment on the controversy, leaving many questions unanswered.
As the discharge petition inches closer to success and public pressure mounts, the coming weeks may prove decisive. Should the House be forced to vote on Massie’s resolution, lawmakers will have to choose between party loyalty and the mounting demand for transparency on one of the most infamous scandals in recent American history. For now, the nation watches and waits, as the fight over the Epstein files enters its most critical phase yet.
