(The Epoch Times)—U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said on Nov. 11 that he had secured the 218 signatures needed to force a House vote on a motion to bring up a bill that would allow sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s victims to sue over records they say the Department of Justice (DOJ) unlawfully withheld or redacted.
Massie said in a post on X that he was working with Democratic Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico, and Ro Khanna of California to bring the bill to the floor “for a vote soon.”
The White House didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. The DOJ didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
The bill, known as the Epstein Files Transparency Act II, would also allow state attorneys general, district attorneys, other authorized state officials, and members of Congress to sue the U.S. attorney general.
It would give victims access to unredacted records about themselves while allowing the Justice Department to protect identifying and private information about other victims.
The bill would also allow state investigators to review unredacted classified records in a secure facility under court-approved procedures.
President Donald Trump signed the original law in November 2025, requiring the Justice Department to make public records related to Epstein with certain exceptions.
The DOJ said in January that it had released nearly 3.5 million pages in compliance with the law. The Jan. 30 release included more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images.
Massie accused the DOJ in July of withholding records it was required to release and improperly redacting some of the material it made public.
The DOJ, Massie alleged, has repeatedly violated the disclosure law Trump signed in November 2025 by withholding more than 3 million Epstein files. He also alleged the department improperly redacted some of the records it released.
State attorneys general and Epstein’s victims should be able to sue the U.S. attorney general to enforce the law, Massie said.
According to allegations in a Nov. 10 report by House Oversight Committee Republicans, federal failures allowed Epstein to continue sexually abusing women after his 2006 arrest.
The report said a 2007 agreement with federal prosecutors in South Florida allowed Epstein to avoid federal prosecution by pleading guilty to lesser state charges and provided federal protection to potential co-conspirators.
Prosecutors failed to notify victims of the deal, and Epstein continued abusing women while on work release, the report said.
The report also accused the Bureau of Prisons of staffing failures at the jail where Epstein died in 2019 while awaiting trial. It accused the Justice Department of poor communication about the release of Epstein records and of disclosing victims’ information.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez was supportive of the legislation.
“Survivors have waited too long for answers, and my office has waited too long for the federal government to turn over the unredacted records we need to complete our criminal investigation,” Torrez said in a press release on July 15.
“This legislation gives state law enforcement the access this investigation requires, and it gives survivors control over their own records. Every day of delay is another day survivors are denied the justice they are owed.”
Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
