Rep. Barry Moore Releases Statement on Continuing Oversight Committee Investigation into Jeffrey Epstein
“Congress has a responsibility to pursue the truth wherever it leads and ensure there is accountability”—Barry Moore
Wednesday afternoon, Representative Barry Moore (R-AL1) released the following statement on the House's vote directing the Oversight Committee to continue its ongoing investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
Moore said:
“Today, I voted for the Oversight Committee to continue its full and thorough investigation into Jeffrey Epstein," said Moore. "Congress has a responsibility to pursue the truth wherever it leads and ensure there is accountability. President Trump's administration has been the most transparent administration in history, and I have no doubt they will continue to support a full and thorough investigation until the American people have the truth.”
Moore’s statement comes after House Republicans approved a measure to show support for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s investigation into matters surrounding deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his alleged ties to sex trafficking, numerous national and international elites, money laundering and several intelligence services both foreign and domestic.
The measure was presented on Tuesday as an alternative to Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-KY) and Ro Khanna’s (D-CA) Epstein Files Transparency Act, which would require the Justice Department, including the FBI and U.S. attorneys’ offices, to release all unclassified records—everything from travel logs to plea deals involving Epstein or his associates. Survivors and lawmakers alike have been demanding this full unsealing in the face of previous incomplete record releases.
Despite calls from survivors, lawmakers and significant portions of President Trump’s MAGA base, Speaker Mike Johnson, GOP leaders and the White House have worked hard to quash the release of the files.
The resolution was tucked into a procedural rule vote setting up consideration of other measures, rather than as a stand-alone vote. As is typical for rules votes, the House approved Wednesday’s rule vote along party lines 212-208, with one present vote from Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA).
The resolution approved Wednesday calls for the Oversight panel, which has already started a probe into Epstein-related matters, to “continue its ongoing investigation into the possible mismanagement of the Federal Government’s investigation of Mr. Jeffrey Epstein and Ms. Ghislaine Maxwell, the circumstances and subsequent investigations of Mr. Epstein’s death, the operation of sex-trafficking rings and ways for the Federal government to effectively combat them.”
Massie slammed the current resolution as hollow: “The Speaker of the House just offered a fig leaf… a non-binding resolution that does absolutely nothing,” he said.
Survivors of Epstein’s abuse rallied in Washington this week, urging lawmakers to press ahead. In a powerful press conference on Wednesday, they demanded transparency while rejecting President Trump’s labeling of the issue as a “hoax.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), a Trump ally who joined the petition, called the fight “a moral issue.” She urged Trump to meet with the survivors: “They should be in the Oval Office—not Jeffrey Epstein’s rich, powerful friends.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), a survivor of sexual assault herself, broke down during a closed-door session with Epstein’s accusers. She told social media she suffered a “full-blown panic attack,” overcome by the emotional weight of their stories.
At present, the discharge petition on the Epstein Files Transparency Act is two votes short of the number needed to force a floor vote on the issue. Until more Republicans sign the petition, those who want the Epstein files released—as President Trump indicated he would do during the 2024 campaign—can only wait and watch what the Oversight Committee does in its ongoing investigation.
