Moore votes in favor of ‘formalizing’ investigation into Epstein files

By Autumn Shelton, RealWV

WASHINGTON, DC – On Wednesday, West Virginia Congressman Riley Moore issued a statement announcing that he and other U.S. House Republicans had voted for H.Res 668, which formalizes the investigation of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. 

“Today, House Republicans took an important step to fulfill our commitment to provide the American people with radical transparency regarding the Epstein files,” Moore stated. “[The Resolution] requires the committee to release these documents to the public after ensuring victims’ personally identifiable information is protected. Specifically, the resolution requires production and release of all documents from Epstein-related investigations and prosecutions, flight logs and travel records, records of all government officials who are referenced in connection with Epstein, entities with ties to Epstein, and all related communications. The Oversight Committee’s investigation has already produced 34,000 documents from the Department of Justice (DOJ). The Committee has also issued subpoenas to the DOJ for all documents, the Epstein estate, and 11 deposition subpoenas for testimony to ensure that we are providing the transparency that the American people require.”

But, Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) said during a press conference prior to the vote, that the resolution “does absolutely nothing.” 

“The Speaker of the House just offered a fig leaf to my colleagues,” Massie said of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). “They’re gonna vote on a non-binding resolution today that does absolutely nothing. I appreciate the efforts of my colleague James Comer, who’s leading the Oversight Committee. They may find some information, but they’re allowing the DOJ to curate all of the information that the DOJ is giving them. If you’ve looked at the pages they’ve released so far, they’re heavily redacted. Some pages are entirely redacted, and 97% of this is already in the public domain.” 

Massie, along with Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA), has put forth a discharge petition that would require a floor vote on the release of all DOJ files and information related to Jeffrey Epstein. The petition requires 218 signatures, 212 from Democrats and six Republican votes. As of Massie’s press conference, four Republicans had signed the petition including Massie, Nancy Mace (SC), Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA) and Lauren Boebert (CO). 

“I’m calling on my colleagues – be one of the next two who sponsors this discharge petition,” Massie said. “I think it’s shameful that this has been called a hoax. Hopefully today we can clear that up. This is not a hoax. This is real. There are real survivors. There are real victims to this criminal enterprise and the perpetrators are being protected because they’re rich and powerful and political donors to the establishment here in Washington, DC.” 

Speaker Johnson also issued a statement following the House’s passage of H.Res 668: 

“President Trump is the most transparent and accessible President in U.S. history, and House Republicans are in lockstep with the President on our commitment to delivering maximum transparency while maintaining adequate protections for innocent victims. The resolution passed by House Republicans today affirms our Conference’s support for the extensive House Oversight Committee investigation, which unlike other proposals in Congress, has the force of law, will protect victims, does not require Senate approval, and is already underway and delivering results.”

Johnson’s press release also states the following: 

The Oversight Committee initiated an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, his associated prosecution, and plea deal. Thus far, the Committee has undertaken the following actions:

• Issued 10 deposition subpoenas to Bill and Hillary Clinton, James Comey, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, Robert Mueller, William Barr, Jeff Sessions, and Alberto Gonzales.
  • Agreements are in place to receive formal written declarations from former Attorneys General Alberto Gonzelez, Eric Holder, and Jeff Sessions under penalty of prosecution for false statements.
  • Bill Barr has been interviewed by Committee investigators.
• Issued a subpoena to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for records related to Epstein and Maxwell.
  • DOJ is complying with the subpoena and has already delivered 34,000 pages of Epstein-related documents to the committee, which have been publicly released, with more forthcoming.

• Issued a subpoena to the Epstein estate for related documents and communications (the deadline for producing those documents is September 8th)
• Issued a subpoena for deposition testimony from Ghislaine Maxwell.
• Scheduled former Labor Secretary and former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Alexander Acosta, for a voluntary transcribed interview on September 19.
• The Committee is also in direct contact with Epstein survivors.

During another press conference on Wednesday, Epstein’s sexual abuse survivors demanded greater transparency from the Trump administration, and said they are willing to name names if action isn’t taken.