Photo via Washington Examiner

What’s in the second Epstein transparency bill pushed by Massie and Khanna?

Read the original at Washington Examiner ↗
Cite

Bullis, H. (2026, September 25). What’s in the second Epstein transparency bill pushed by Massie and Khanna? Washington Examiner. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/house/4742287/second-epstein-files-transparency-bill-massie-khanna/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Washington Examiner · collected 2026-09-25 · by Hailey Bullis

Quick Summary

Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) are pushing a second bill to force the release of additional files related to Jeffrey Epstein's case, after securing 216 out of 218 necessary signatures for a House vote post-elections in November. This new legislation aims to give state attorneys general, survivors, and members of Congress the ability to sue the U.S. attorney general to demand disclosure of remaining documents not covered by the initial resolution passed ten months ago. The bill also closes what Massie describes as a loophole allowing the DOJ to withhold internal memos about decisions on whether to prosecute or investigate using "deliberative process privilege."
Written by AI on 2026-09-25, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The House is expected to vote a second time to release documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after Representatives Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) gathered the necessary signatures, reaching 216 out of the required 218. This follows their first resolution signed into law by President Trump in January 2023. However, the vote will take place only after the November midterm elections when the House reconvenes. Massie and Khanna claim that despite the initial act compelling full disclosure from the Justice Department, millions of related files are still being withheld. The new bill allows state attorneys general, survivors, and Congress members to sue the Attorney General for disclosure. A lawsuit against the DOJ demands records or an explanation by September 24 regarding the court's orders being "clear and unambiguous."

Written for “Epstein Transparency Bill” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Epstein Transparency Bill
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Toronto Star
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 3 of 52 claims Outlet record 64/100
“Article A focuses on Les Wexner's political contributions and their connection to Jeffrey Epstein in Ohio's Senate race, while Article B discusses a legislative effort to release more of the Epstein files in Congress.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
70/100
Washington Examiner's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-25 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Washington Examiner · 3970 article(s) · 7 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 7 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Hailey Bullis
31 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The 2026 election cycle now in its final days will be the most expensive midterm ever, according to figures tabulated by tracking firm AdImpact.
🔮 Maine’s local AFL-CIO President Cynthia Phinney called it “mystifying and insulting” that Collins would campaign with Manchin, citing his work as an adviser for the private equity firm Apollo Global Management, which Phinney claimed is responsible for “killing hundreds of Maine jobs.”
🔮 House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) isn’t buying the flurry of polls forecasting a potential blue wave in next month’s midterm elections, instead attributing the GOP’s standing to difficulty in reaching their own voters.
🔮 House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) insisted GOP leadership is “totally united” amid speculation over who will lead Republicans if the party loses its slim majority in November.
🔮 Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) said she will “not be silenced” following a raid on her home earlier on Monday by federal agents as part of a criminal investigation.
🔮 Tisch, who was appointed by former New York Mayor Eric Adams, was kept on by Mayor Zohran Mamdani when he took office last year as an olive branch to business leaders and those skeptical he might wholly overhaul the department.
🔮 Johnson has previously been bullish in interviews that Republicans will keep the House majority, telling the Washington Examiner in September he predicted Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries would remain as opposition leader next year.
🔮 When asked by moderator Gregg Lagerquist, a veteran news anchor, if she would stand with Trump if he visits Maine ahead of the general election, Collins said she did not believe the president would visit the state at all.
🔮 The pair will face off in the general election for Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, which is located in the southeastern part of the state.
🔮 Zahn has voted in two Iowa elections after voting in Michigan for most of his life: the 2024 general election and the 2026 primary, meaning he likely would have voted for Miller-Meeks just once, in the 2024 election.
Also by Hailey Bullis
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 31 articles by Hailey Bullis →

Topics

CNN DOJ GOP House the Epstein Files Transparency Act

Subjects

DOJ ORG · 6× Epstein PERSON · 6× Massie PERSON · 5× House ORG · 3× Khanna PERSON · 3× CNN ORG · 2× Congress ORG · 2× Jeffrey Epstein PERSON · 1× Ro Khanna PERSON · 1× Thomas Massie PERSON · 1×

Narrative

CONGRESS SET TO DEAL WITH A MASSIE-SIZED HEADACHE AFTER MIDTERM ELECTIONS There is currently a lawsuit against the DOJ pertaining to the release of certain documents in the DOJ’s investigation, with Blanche having until Sept. 24 to provide the records or explain why the court’s orders were not “clear and unambiguous.”
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-25
🔮 The House is expected to vote a second time to force the release of the files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) secured the necessary GOP signatures to force a vote.
2026-09-25 · Washington Examiner
What’s in the second Epstein transparency bill pushed by Massie and Khanna? · assertive framing

Claims (21 extracted, 0 hedged)

The House is expected to vote a second time to force the release of the files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) secured the necessary GOP signatures to force a vote. asserted
Massie → expect → vote
The sequel act to the duo’s first resolution forcing the release of the Epstein files comes 10 months after President Donald Trump signed the first into law. asserted
Trump → force → law
The vote, however, won’t happen until after the November elections, when the House returns to session. asserted
House → happen → session
The discharge petition currently sits at 216 out of the 218 necessary signatures to trigger a vote, but the final two signatures are expected to be delivered by Democrats when the House returns. asserted
House → sit → Democrats
Massie and Khanna’s first bill forcing the release of the Epstein files, the Epstein Files Transparency Act, compelled the Justice Department to release its investigation into Epstein in its entirety. asserted
bill → force → entirety
However, Massie and Khanna have accused the DOJ of withholding millions of files related to Epstein in violation of the first resolution. asserted
Massie → accuse → resolution
The Epstein Files Transparency Act II gives state attorneys general, survivors, and members of Congress the ability to sue the U.S. attorney general to demand disclosure of the remaining documents. asserted
Act → give → documents
Khanna told CNN that survivors “still don’t have access to millions of documents that have been covered, and there have not been prosecutions here in the United States. asserted
that → tell → States
And a lot of these state attorneys general want to prosecute, and this bill would allow them to do so.” asserted
them → want → attorneys
The new proposed amendment to the first transparency act would also give victims entitlement to receive unredacted records relating to themselves from the DOJ. asserted
amendment → propose → DOJ
Redactions pertaining to other victims’ identifiable information would still be allowed, however. asserted
Redactions → pertain → information
Massie has claimed the second Epstein files bill was written with the advice and counsel of the survivors’ lawyers and the New Mexico attorney general “to ensure it will provide the tools needed to provide closure for survivors and convictions of the perpetrators.” asserted
it → claim → perpetrators
The legislation would also close a loophole left by the first resolution, in which Massie argues Attorney General Todd Blanche is withholding documents using “deliberative process privilege.” asserted
Blanche → close → privilege
“They say we owe you our final production, but we don’t have to give you our decisions and our homework,” Massie told CNN. asserted
Massie → say → CNN
“But the Epstein Files Transparency Act that we wrote says that you have to give us those internal memos about decisions on whether to prosecute, whether to investigate, because that’s central to this whole thing.” asserted
that → write → thing
He continued, “What we do in the new bill is we say, when we said you have to tell us about your decisions, that covered deliberative process privilege. asserted
that → continue → privilege
But we’re saying it explicitly in this bill. asserted
we → say → bill
You can’t assert that deliberative process privilege.” asserted
You → assert → privilege
The DOJ has released millions of documents related to the investigation into Epstein, including material that spans decades of federal investigative work and includes evidence seized from the deceased financier’s devices. asserted
that → release → devices
CONGRESS SET TO DEAL WITH A MASSIE-SIZED HEADACHE AFTER MIDTERM ELECTIONS There is currently a lawsuit against the DOJ pertaining to the release of certain documents in the DOJ’s investigation, with Blanche having until Sept. 24 to provide the records or explain why the court’s orders were not “clear and unambiguous.” asserted
orders → set → records
The DOJ has said it did not publish the handwritten notes as they were “properly withheld because they are ‘substantially similar to’ and therefore duplicative of the typewritten reports.” asserted
they → say → reports
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support