House Republican says GOP is in 'full panic' over Epstein files

Following Democrat Adelita Grijalva's special election win in Arizona Tuesday, House Rep. Thomas Massie declared victory on having enough votes to release the files of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, putting his own party in a complete panic, and prompting threats to him and his three Republican co-signers, according to Semafor.

“They came back and tried to get the four of us to take our names off of the petition,” Massie told Semafor Wednesday. “They asked some of my colleagues who are co-signers. And they actually threatened them politically, not physically.”

GOP Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado have also signed the petition along with every House Democrat.

With Grijalva's win, there will be enough votes to force a vote on the release of the Epstein files despite Speaker of the House Mike Johnson's attempts to avoid it.

Massie told Semafor that if Johnson uses parliamentary tactics to evade a vote that “there’s enough notoriety on this issue that people will know that he’s sweeping this under the rug.”

He also said that "if there is language included in a bill to sideline the petition, those who vote for that bill are 'part of the cover up.'"

Massie also encouraged members of his own party to "get a grip."

"They’re going to have a vote. I think they’re coming to terms with that,” Massie said. “I’m going to bet the speaker is probably going to hand out hall passes to some congressmen, because this is an 80/20 issue.”