New · U.S. Politics · Congress · 9 outlets (L 1 · C 6 · R 2)
Massie petition hits 218 signatures, forcing House vote on Epstein files bill
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said Wednesday that his discharge petition for the Epstein Files Transparency Act II reached the required 218 signatures, forcing a House vote on the bill.[2, 7] Massie launched the petition over the summer to circumvent House leadership and force a vote on the measure.[4] Rep. John Garamendi's (D-Calif.) signature put the petition, led by Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), over the threshold, according to the Washington Examiner.[9]
The bill would authorize lawsuits to force the U.S. attorney general to release withheld records on Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender, the Washington Times reported.[8] Forbes reported the measure gives states, Epstein victims and lawmakers more power to obtain unredacted files.[5]
Axios reported the petition succeeded one day after fellow Republicans blocked Massie's attempt to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.[3] Massie is in his final weeks in Congress, Roll Call reported.[6]
Why it matters The petition's success forces a House vote on legislation that would let Epstein survivors, state prosecutors and lawmakers sue the Justice Department to release unredacted files.[1, 5]
Covered by Raw Story, CBS News, The Washington Times and 6 more
Read first Petition for new Epstein files bill gets enough support for vote
How balanced is this coverage?
Of the 9 rated outlets that covered it, 1 is left of center, 6 are center and 2 are right of center (2 of them in the Right group).
Too few left- or right-leaning outlets to compare: 1 of 42 left-leaning, 6 of 33 center and 2 of 38 right-leaning outlets covered it.
- Left: none.
- Leans left: Raw Story (−0.94).
- Center: ABC News (−0.19), CBS News (−0.14), Axios (−0.05), Roll Call (+0.04), The Hill (+0.10), Forbes (+0.19).
- Leans right: none.
- Right: The Washington Times (+1.27), Washington Examiner (+1.34).
Each dot is an outlet that covered it, placed by its audience-lean score (Eady et al. 2025), which measures who shares its links, not how accurate it is. The ticks under the line are all 113 rated outlets Tare reads.