GOP Derails Second Democrat Effort To Unearth Epstein Files

House Republicans on Tuesday afternoon moved to block a second effort from the chamber’s Democrats to force a vote on releasing materials related to the late convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.

Lawmakers voted along party lines against permitting Democrats to offer an amendment to force Attorney General Pam Bondi to publish any “records and evidence” regarding the federal government’s investigation into and incarceration of Epstein. House Democratic leadership has sought to put GOP lawmakers in politically uncharted territory by making them choose between compelling the Trump administration to release all records related to Epstein or deferring to the president’s judgement about which contents to make public on his timeline.

Republican lawmakers, even those who have advocated for the release of the Epstein files, voted against allowing a vote on Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna’s amendment to release the Epstein files within 30 days of the measure’s enactment. The amendment would have been attached to Senate-passed crypto legislation under consideration in the House, which could have jeopardized the bill’s chances of becoming law.

“It’s just politics, it’s not about protecting little children,” Republican Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett told Axios, referring to the amendment. “And that ticks me off.”

The failed effort follows an unsuccessful vote on Khanna’s amendment in the House Rules Committee Monday evening. Just one House Republican, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, joined with Democrats to adopt the amendment. Norman, however, voted against allowing a floor vote on the same amendment. (Read more from “GOP Derails Second Democrat Effort To Unearth Epstein Files” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr