By Nolan D. McCaskill
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives committee on Tuesday said it released more than 33,000 pages of files on the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as party leadership looked to end a push by a bipartisan pair of lawmakers to force a vote on the matter.
The case of Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in 2019, has caused a political headache for Republican President Donald Trump, after many of his supporters embraced a slew of conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein.
A July Reuters/Ipsos poll found that majorities of Americans and of Trump’s Republicans believe the government is hiding details on the case.
The proposal submitted by Republican U.S. Representative Thomas Massie and Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, would require the U.S. attorney general to publicly release all unclassified Epstein records in possession of the Department of Justice, including the FBI and U.S. attorneys’ offices.
Massie and Khanna will hold a press conference with Epstein victims on Wednesday morning.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Massie’s petition was “inartfully drafted” because it lacked language that would protect the identities of victims who were sexually abused by Epstein.
Johnson also said the petition is “moot” due to the work of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which released thousands of pages of files on Monday.
“It’s superfluous at this point, and I think we’re achieving the desired end here,” Johnson said.
The committee has subpoenaed the DOJ and Epstein’s estate for documents and convicted Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell for a deposition.
(Reporting by Nolan D. McCaskill; editing by Scott Malone, Rod Nickel and Nia Williams)
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