As one told me, “this Epstein bomb is about to drop and no want [sic] wants to defend a pedo-protector. It’s just a matter of time.”‘
Swalwell then claimed in a follow-up post: ‘One Republican just texted me that if there’s a discharge vote on Epstein they expect a “jail break” of over 100 members. Trump will go nuts!’
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie said on Sunday that he has the 218 signatures required for the vote. A discharge petition allows lawmakers to circumvent party leaders to force a vote.
Some of Swalwell’s critics were quick to seize on the fact that congressman did not specify which Republicans he claimed to have spoken to and accused him of making the whole thing up
The Democrat’s statement came as the government shutdown stretched into an eighth day Wednesday, with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson keeping the chamber in recess during the funding the stalemate.
The break has prevented the House from moving forward with the petition, leading Swalwell, Massie and others to accuse Johnson of stalling to avoid a vote.
Arizona Democratic Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, whose signature on the petition would tip the scales in favor of releasing the files, is waiting to be sworn into office as the recess drags on.
On Tuesday, Johnson denied that he is holding up Grijalva’s swearing-in to keep her from casting the decisive vote.
‘It has nothing to do with that at all,’ he said. ‘We will swear her in when everybody gets back.’
MAGA loyalist Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of four House Republicans to join Democrats in signing the petition, said she has never felt more heat on an issue.
‘My signature is on that discharge petition, and there has not been another issue where I have ever received more pressure than that one, and I’m pretty much shocked by it,’ Greene told NewsNation.
‘I can’t imagine — I’ve never understood how this is an issue.’
She added: ‘I think when it comes to women being raped, especially when they were 14 years old, that’s pretty black and white.’
The Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files has left some MAGA loyalists reeling in recent months.
It has exposed divisions in the movement, leading to heavy criticism of Attorney General Pam Bondi, who had teased a full release of evidence related to the disgraced financier.
In July, a memo from Justice Department and the FBI said ‘no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted’ in the Epstein case, months after Bondi suggested ‘a client list’ was sitting on her desk.
