As Congress reconvened after the August recess, the controversy over the federal government’s handling of Jeffrey Epstein’s files reignited on Capitol Hill, drawing sharp lines between lawmakers, survivors, and federal agencies. The debate, fueled by demands for transparency and justice, has exposed rifts not only between political parties but also within them, as the House Oversight Committee and individual representatives pursue different paths to uncover the truth behind one of America’s most notorious sex trafficking cases.
Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie has become a vocal figure in the renewed push for disclosure. According to the Nebraska Examiner, Massie filed a discharge petition aimed at compelling an immediate House vote to release more government files on Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender whose 2019 death in prison—ruled a suicide—has only deepened public suspicion and speculation. Massie’s effort, however, has garnered only limited support among his Republican colleagues, with just three others—Reps. Nancy Mace, Lauren Boebert, and Marjorie Taylor Greene—joining his petition. The majority of signatories are House Democrats, leaving Massie two Republican signatures short of the threshold needed to force a floor vote and bypass House leadership.
The House Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), has taken a more measured approach. On September 2, 2025, the panel released a tranche of Epstein-related material. Yet, as reported by the Nebraska Examiner and Nexstar Media, most of these documents were already publicly available, frustrating those seeking new revelations. The committee’s release followed a non-binding House resolution, passed with the support of all Nebraska House members, which urges the committee to continue its investigation and to release unclassified records from previous probes—so long as privacy and national security concerns are addressed. This resolution, while symbolically significant, carries no force of law and leaves decisions about releasing investigative reports to the committee’s discretion.
Notably, none of Nebraska’s representatives backed Massie’s discharge petition. Rep. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.) stated, “Victims of Jeffrey Epstein deserve justice,” but refused to sign the petition, arguing it “hands control of the House floor to congressional Democrats.” Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.), speaking to CNN, echoed a preference for “regular order,” explaining, “We have a plan. It’s going to get implemented, and it’s going to happen this week. What Massie and the Democrats are doing is all-out reckless … They do not have victim protection … it was written in a sloppy way.” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) took a similar stance, indicating he would support whatever bill comes to the floor, and described the House resolution as “more far-reaching than the discharge bill.”
At the heart of the debate is the question of how much information the government should release and how quickly. Massie’s discharge petition would require the release of all unclassified Epstein materials within 30 days—a move House GOP leadership and the White House have criticized as hasty and potentially harmful to victims’ privacy. The White House, for its part, considers the discharge petition “a very hostile act,” according to an official who told CNN, “Helping Thomas Massie and Liberal Democrats with their attention-seeking, while the DOJ is fully supporting a more comprehensive file release effort from the Oversight Committee, would be viewed as a very hostile act to the administration.”
Survivors of Epstein’s abuse have made their voices heard as well. On September 3, 2025, several women held a press conference demanding the full release of all government-held materials. “The truth needs to come out, and the government holds the truth,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene declared during the event, standing alongside the survivors. “The cases that are sealed hold the truth. Jeffrey Epstein’s estate holds the truth. The FBI, the DOJ and the CIA hold the truth.” Some survivors have even pledged to assemble and publish their own “client list” of individuals connected to Epstein, reflecting mounting frustration with the pace and transparency of the official investigation.
Rep. James Comer, in a NewsNation interview, confirmed that his committee is compiling its own list of powerful figures associated with Epstein and his longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. “We’re going to compile a list from the victims. So at the end of the day, there’s going to be a list, whether or not there’s a list in an envelope that Epstein left behind. It doesn’t appear that there was, but I think we could put together a list,” Comer said. He cautioned, however, that mere association with Epstein or Maxwell does not imply guilt: “But we want to know everyone that was in the circle, as well as the people who were victimizing those young girls.”
Epstein accuser Lisa Phillips, speaking to NBC News, urged fellow survivors to come forward: “A lot of us survivors know we’ve been compiling lists of our own, and we have so many other survivors. Please come forward, and we’ll compile our own list and seek justice on our own.” The survivors’ determination has added urgency to the congressional investigation, which has seen some of them testify in closed-door meetings with the Oversight Committee since lawmakers returned from recess.
The Department of Justice and the FBI, meanwhile, maintain that further disclosures are neither necessary nor appropriate. In an unsigned memo released in July 2025, the DOJ stated, “A systemic review revealed no incriminating ‘client list,’” and that “no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.” The agencies also cited the need to protect the personal details of Epstein’s victims as a reason for withholding additional information.
Despite these assurances, skepticism remains high. The Oversight Committee has subpoenaed former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, expecting their testimony in mid to late September 2025. The committee also subpoenaed Epstein’s estate in late August and has deposed former Attorney General Bill Barr, who, according to Comer, “answered every question,” with both Republicans and Democrats participating equally in the deposition. The DOJ has sent thousands of pages of Epstein documents to the committee, but, as Democrats on the panel noted, the vast majority of this material was already public.
The debate over the release of Epstein’s files has become a flashpoint in broader discussions about government transparency, victims’ rights, and political accountability. President Donald Trump has dismissed the renewed attention as a “Democrat hoax that never ends,” while critics from both parties have accused the administration of failing to deliver on promises of openness. As lawmakers, survivors, and federal officials continue to spar over the fate of the Epstein files, one thing remains clear: the public’s appetite for answers—and for justice—has not diminished.
With subpoenas pending, survivors mobilizing, and lawmakers divided, the next chapter in the Epstein saga promises to be as contentious and consequential as those that came before.
