A Republican effort to immediately fast-track legislation requiring the Justice Department to release all files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein failed in the House on Wednesday, leading GOP lawmakers to accuse Democrats of purposefully blocking the move to keep the issue alive longer in the public spotlight.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) requested unanimous consent to vote immediately on the “Epstein Files Transparency Act,” but the request was not cleared by bipartisan leadership, effectively blocking a quick vote.
“Just left the House floor and I tried to do a UC, unanimous consent, tried to get the Epstein files, get it straight to the floor, cut out all this nonsense,” said Burchett. “And, you know, the Democrats blocked it, oddly enough. Now, here they’ve had it for four years, and obviously, if there’s something there about Trump, they would have released it. And now they’re all ‘let’s get it out, let’s get it out.’”
“They ought to be ashamed of themselves,” Burchett added. “But they’re probably not.”
RELATED: Trump Vows DOJ Investigation Into Epstein’s Ties To Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman, And Others
The bill, introduced by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), is similar to a bipartisan measure he is championing with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). That similar legislation, which would also compel the release of the Epstein files, is slated for a vote next week after the lawmakers secured sufficient support for a discharge petition.
The controversy continues to be a point of political tension, with President Donald Trump commenting on Truth Social that Democrats were raising the “Epstein Hoax” to “deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown.”
The Republican-led House Oversight Committee recently released over 20,000 documents obtained from Epstein’s estate.
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