Effort to release Epstein files finally advances after newly sworn-in Democrat becomes final signatory

Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie's highly anticipated discharge petition to release the Epstein files received its final signatory on Wednesday, allowing lawmakers to force a vote in the House.

Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva of Arizona became the 218th signatory on the Epstein discharge petition just moments after being sworn into office on Wednesday. Grijalva joined the 213 Democrats who unanimously supported the discharge petition while just four Republicans — Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, and Massie — signed on.

'Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap.'

With 218 signatures, lawmakers will be able to force a House vote on releasing the Epstein files.

Just hours before Grijalva's swearing in, the White House confirmed that members of President Donald Trump's administration met with Boebert in the Situation Room to address the discharge petition.

RELATED: 'Hoax': Republicans slam Democrats for sharing altered Epstein documents to 'create a fake narrative' around Trump

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This meeting included a phone call from Trump as well as a face-to-face with Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and FBI Director Kash Patel. Despite the apparent pressure campaign, Boebert did not rescind her support for the discharge petition.

Despite the bipartisan uproar over the administration's handling of the Epstein files, Trump maintains that the scandal is a Democrat "hoax" to distract from their disastrous shutdown.

"The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they’ll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects," Trump said in a Truth Social Post. "Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap. The Democrats cost our Country $1.5 Trillion Dollars with their recent antics of viciously closing our Country, while at the same time putting many at risk — and they should pay a fair price."

RELATED: Supreme Court rejects Ghislaine Maxwell's appeal on first day of session

Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

"There should be no deflections to Epstein or anything else, and any Republicans involved should be focused only on opening up our Country, and fixing the massive damage caused by the Democrats!"

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