As the Jeffrey Epstein files continue to dominate headlines in Washington, Maryland Democrats are hoping to seize an opportunity to ramp up pressure on President Donald Trump.
This week, three of the state’s House members joined dozens of their colleagues on both sides of the aisle in sponsoring legislation related to Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex trafficker who died in prison in 2019. Epstein had a relationship with many powerful figures such as Trump, former President Bill Clinton and British Prince Andrew — all of whom were listed in flight logs released in New York last year.
Reps. Johnny Olszewski, D-Md., and Jamie Raskin, D-Md., were among the 34 lawmakers who co-sponsored House Resolution 581, a measure that would give Attorney General Pam Bondi 30 days to “release nearly all unclassified files” related to the federal investigation of Epstein, his girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell and their known associates.
In a news release Tuesday, Olszewski said Republicans who campaigned on Epstein transparency should “welcome the opportunity to end the speculation once and for all.”
“President Trump and his extreme conservatives have doubled and tripled down on Epstein conspiracy theories for years, but now claim there’s ‘nothing to see,’” Olszewski said. “If that’s the case, they should have no problem releasing these files for the American public to evaluate.”
Olszewski and Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., who together represent all of Baltimore City, were two of the 18 lawmakers who co-sponsored House Resolution 4405, also known as the “Epstein Files Transparency Act.” Derived from the aforementioned resolution, this bill has just one Republican sponsor, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie — a libertarian-minded deficit hawk whom Trump has threatened to primary.
Democrats had tried to force Republicans to vote on the issue for weeks until Wednesday, when three GOP members of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement backed Pennsylvania Rep. Summer Lee’s motion to subpoena the Department of Justice for the release of Epstein documents. A vote before the entire House will have to wait until lawmakers return from their summer recess.
Mfume’s chief of staff, Allegra Carson, told The Baltimore Sun Thursday that the congressman supports Lee’s motion to subpoena the DOJ. Mfume, who serves on the separate House Oversight Subcommittee on Government Operations, thanked Tennessee Republican Rep. Tim Burchett for introducing a similar resolution during a hearing Tuesday.
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(Katharine Wilson contributed to this article.)
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