Amidst the ongoing controversy on Capitol Hill about the handling of openness in the Jeffrey Epstein case, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) intensified his criticism of Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) on Tuesday.
“I would describe virtually everything Thomas Massie says, as related to this issue, as meaningless,” Johnson told reporters, delivering his most scathing statements against the Kentucky Republican to yet.
Massie aimed to bypass Johnson and force a vote on legislation mandating the release of a wide variety of DOJ records linked to Epstein. Minutes before, he shot down the idea. In the meanwhile, Johnson is supporting a different resolution that would authorize the House Oversight Committee to investigate the matter.
A discharge petition, spearheaded by Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), is a unique procedural maneuver that, if supported by a majority of House members, would enable MPs to avoid leadership.
By the weekend, according to Massie’s statement to HeadlinesForever Digital, he should have collected enough signatures to reach that goal.
“I think there’s a real good chance of that,” he pointed out.
Two representatives, Massie and Jim McGovern (D-Mass), have signed the petition as of Tuesday afternoon.
When asked about Johnson’s remarks, Massie called the plan put up by House leaders a “placebo resolution.”
“Three paragraphs of my resolve were copied by him. We started from scratch while writing this. “Why is he replicating it and removing its teeth if he thinks it’s meaningless?” Says Massie. “President Donald Trump terrifies him. That is the only thing holding Mike Johnson’s speakership together.
In response to a bipartisan subpoena, the Department of Justice has started providing the Oversight Committee with thousands of documents, with the expectation that some of them will be redacted.
Johnson stated that his method strikes a fair balance between being open and respecting the privacy of Epstein’s victims.
Reporters were informed by him on Tuesday that “I would not put much stock into what Thomas Massie says.”
“The House Republicans have been very consistent about maximum disclosure and maximum transparency with the Epstein files, but we had to do it in a way that would protect the innocent victims of these horrific crimes,” said Johnson. That was accomplished by us. A resolution has been reached that will bring about the intended result. In my opinion, it is quite disheartening what some individuals want to do with this for political gain.
On Wednesday, Massie and Khanna will push their resolution at a news conference that will also include some of Epstein’s victims. On Tuesday, Johnson and the Oversight Committee visited with the victims as well.
A DOJ internal document essentially concluded the Epstein case early this year, reigniting GOP disagreements over how to handle the issue. This showdown highlights those splits.