What Is Rep. Thomas Massie’s The Epstein Files Transparency Act II?
Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie has officially put forward a discharge petition on the Epstein Files Transparency Act II (EFTA II).
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Massie’s aims to strengthen enforcement of the existing Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA) by allowing state attorneys general to sue the Justice Department if it unlawfully withholds, redacts, or delays releasing covered Epstein-related records.
It would also expand access to records for state officials, members of Congress, and victims, including access to otherwise unredacted records in certain circumstances, while establishing penalties for officials who knowingly conceal or falsify covered records. (RELATED: Wall Street Turned Blind Eye To Epstein’s Massive Money Laundering Scheme, Senator Alleges)
Before the legislation can reach the House floor, it would need to garner 218 signatures on a discharge petition. If it clears that threshold and passes the House, it would then move to the Senate for consideration before ultimately heading to President Trump’s desk if approved by both chambers.
The push comes as questions continue to mount over the federal government’s handling of Epstein-related records and its past investigation into his Zorro Ranch property in New Mexico.
Former New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas alleged in a July interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) that the Justice Department slowed down his state’s renewed probe into Epstein’s Zorro Ranch, claiming the federal government “burned” his office during its investigation of the property. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: DOJ Has Been Hobbling New Mexico’s Epstein Ranch Investigation For Years, Former AG Says)
Balderas said federal investigators had reached an informal agreement with the New Mexico Department of Justice (NMDOJ) to provide evidence for the state’s investigation. However, he said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) failed to follow through on the July 23, 2019, agreement to refer any state-related matters stemming from the Epstein investigation back to the NMDOJ.
Balderas, who served as New Mexico’s attorney general until Jan. 1, 2023, pointed to a newly uncovered handwritten note and an email from James Comey’s daughter, both released as part of the Epstein files earlier this year, as evidence supporting his account.
The former AG sent a letter to current Democratic New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez accusing the SDNY and, by extension, the Justice Department of directly obstructing his office’s investigation into Epstein’s Zorro Ranch.
The exact author of the July 2019 handwritten note remains unknown, though Balderas believes a staff member or legal assistant in the New York office wrote it.
The allegations come as New Mexico lawmakers have launched their own investigation into Epstein’s Zorro Ranch. (RELATED: New Mexico Lawmakers Launch Expansive Inquiry Into Epstein Property)
In February, the state House unanimously voted to establish an investigatory subcommittee to examine Epstein’s activities at the property following allegations that he sexually abused and trafficked girls there.
New Mexico state investigators also searched the ranch in March with support from state and local law enforcement. (RELATED: Investigators Descend On Jeffrey Epstein’s Former Zorro Ranch In New Mexico)
Torrez acknowledged there would be “real obstacles” to uncovering evidence after so many years but said his office remained committed to completing the investigation and issuing a report.
The Daily Caller previously reported that Dallas real-estate mogul Don Huffines — who currently owns the property — committed to cooperating with the state investigation and eventually turning the ranch into a Christian retreat.
“The people of New Mexico, and those who were harmed, are entitled to a complete and transparent accounting of what we found and what we did not,” Torrez wrote in The Albuquerque Journal.
The original legislation required former Attorney General Pam Bondi to make all unclassified Department of Justice (DOJ) records related to Epstein — including records from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices — publicly accessible in a searchable and downloadable format within 30 days of the law taking effect.
The comments come as Massie’s second piece of legislation aimed at increasing transparency surrounding the Epstein files seeks to build on the EFTA, which required the U.S. Attorney General to make all unclassified Department of Justice (DOJ) records related to Epstein — including records from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices — publicly accessible in a searchable and downloadable format within 30 days of the law taking effect.
The law further allows the U.S. Attorney General to withhold or redact material involving child sexual abuse material (CSAM), physical abuse or death; personal information belonging to alleged victims; and information that could compromise ongoing investigations, prosecutions, national security or foreign policy.
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