The Epstein files fight has a new number: 218. But the word that matters is **commitments**.
Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna said they had enough promised support to force another House vote. The official Clerk list showed 216 registered signatures on September 16; the two remaining Democrats were reported as committed to sign when the House returns from recess.
That is not a vote. It is not a new release of documents. H.R. 9694, the Epstein Files Transparency Act II, is a bill introduced in July. It would let survivors, authorized state officials and members of Congress challenge withheld records in court. Its sponsors accuse the Justice Department of failing to comply with the earlier law; that allegation is theirs, not a court finding.
Sources:
– Office of the House Clerk, Discharge Petition No. 27: https://clerk.house.gov/DischargePetition/2026083127
– H.R. 9694, GovInfo: https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/BILLS-119hr9694ih
– H.R. 9694 text: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-119hr9694ih/pdf/BILLS-119hr9694ih.pdf
– Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, official release: https://khanna.house.gov/media/press-releases/khanna-massie-leger-fernandez-merkley-lujan-introduce-epstein-files
– Independent reporting on the commitments and recess: https://www.axios.com/2026/09/18/epstein-files-vote-massie-khanna-support
What would convince you that disclosure is complete? Leave one concrete test in the comments.
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