A trove of documents tied to the federal investigation into the convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein has finally been released. However, the so-called ‘Epstein Files’ being outed hasn’t necessarily been a positive development for many. The House of Representatives Oversight Committee published 33,295 pages of documents in connection with the late financier who once shared friendly connections with high-profile personalities, including US President Donald Trump, and former President Bill Clinton.

The pages released this week include flight logs and surveillance video shedding light on the sex offender’s infamous federal prison that has long been the subject of conspiracy theories and debates regarding the cause of his death in 2019. Court filings, audio recording and emails were also roped into the content. Despite the ‘Epstein Files‘ now being out, Republicans and Democrats have temporarily joined one side of the argument in raising a potential “coverup” to attention, as the files barely unveiled any new information on the contentious matter.

While it remains unclear if the Department of Justice is holding back other records linked to Epstein, the government continues to maintain its statements pointing to the lack of any “incriminating” Epstein client list, as publicised in July. With the documents published online on Tuesday (US time), government representatives have already sounded the alarm against the so-released Epstein documents.

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Epstein Files released: What’s new, what’s not?

“The 33,000 pages of Epstein documents James Comer has decided to ‘release’ were already mostly public information. To the American people – don’t let this fool you,” Rep Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said in a statement published on September 2. He further went into detail, noting the Oversight Democrats determined that 97% of the pages received this week had already made public previously.

The 3% that does appear to be new information in these documents is less than 1,000 pages-long. It comprises the Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) flight logs detailing locations of the Epstein plane from 2000-2014 and documentation connected to the jet’s reentry back into the US.

“There is no mention of any client list or anything that improves transparency or justice for victims,” he added. Garcia slammed House Republicans for attempting to make a “spectacle of releasing already-public documents.” He again emphasised that US Attorney General Pam Bondi, who’s long claimed to have the so-called “client list” on her desk, could actually release it if she wanted to, as opposed to the lack of revelations on this front.

Already-public information included in the files is as follows:

  • Metropolitan Correctional Centre video from the night of Epstein’s death
  • Supreme Court filings from Ghislaine Maxwell
  • Court filings: US v Maxwell
  • Court transcript: US v Maxwell
  • DOJ Office of Inspector General Report on Epstein death
  • Attorney General Pamela Bondi’s memo to FBI Director Kash Patel on Epstein files release
  • Communications between the Bureau of Prisons and the DOJ regarding Epstein death
  • Police reports, court filings: Epstein’s criminal case in Florida

Epstein Files reactions, oppositions

Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, who ordered the documents be published online, admitted to there being little new information in the files so released. The Kentucky Republican told NBC News beforehand, “As far as I can see, there’s nothing new in the documents. However, he still unloaded his furious remarks, accusing Democrats of putting on a “political charade over the Epstein Files.”

Meanwhile, a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee meeting was set up with Epstein victims. A video from the scene caught Rep Nancy Mace suffering a “full blown panic attack,” as she abruptly walked out of a closed-door meeting after listening to survivors’ accounts of their lived-trauma. She eventually opened up, “I had a very difficult time listening to their stories… Sweating. Hyperventilating. Shaking. I can’t breathe.”

As per her recent social media post, the Republican Party member has since signed the discharge petition to push for all files from the Epstein case to be released.

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Rep Thomas Massie, a fellow conservative firebrand, is behind the discharged petition filed Tuesday, which seeks to defy the Donald Trump administration. The incendiary document has been co-authored by Democrat Ro Khanna. To force a vote, the petition needs to have at least 218 signatures. The California politician told NBC News that he firmly held the idea that all 212 Democrats would be joining him, with at least six Republicans backing the cause.

Countering the petition at all costs, a White House official called the display of support in its favour “a hostile act” in an email. “Helping Thomas Massie and Liberal Democrats with their attention-seeking, while the DOJ is fully supporting a more comprehensive file release effort from the Oversight Committee, would be viewed as a very hostile act to the administration,” they stated.

Democrats and Republicans come together against the Trump admin

“Massie is a conservative. I am a progressive,” Ro Khanna wrote on X. “This is about standing with survivors and protecting kids. The people playing politics are the ones not signing our petition to force a release of the Epstein files.”

Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene said that she was committed to doing everything in her capacity to bring justice to the Epstein victims. “Including exposing the cabal of rich and powerful elites that enabled this,” she added on X. “I’m proud to be signing @RepThomasMassie‘s discharge petition.”

The Republican Party’s Lauren Boebert is also supporting the discharge petition to force a vote on the release of the much-asked-for documents. “We want to see the list. Period,” she said. “I don’t care what names are on it. I want to see what names are on it and why.”

As of now, four Republicans have already signed the Massie-Khanna discharge petition. As established, they are: Thomas Massie, Lauren Boebert, Nancy Mace and Marjorie Taylor Greene.