According to several sources close to the discussions, senior officials in the Trump administration planned to meet on Wednesday to discuss a House initiative aimed at securing a vote on releasing Justice Department documents related to Jeffrey Epstein.
According to one source, the meeting would include Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanchard, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Colorado Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, who supports disclosing the Epstein archives and joined the House effort to force a vote on their release.
CNN has not yet confirmed that the meeting took place. A Department of Justice spokesperson declined to comment, and the White House did not respond to requests. CNN reached out to Boebert’s office.
Nevertheless, the plan for the meeting underscores the Trump administration’s concerns about the Epstein episode, which had drawn renewed attention earlier in the week when the House Oversight Committee released additional documents obtained from Epstein’s estate.
The Department of Justice documents spanning years of investigations into Epstein-connected child trafficking networks may contain details the House has not yet obtained.
The controversy surrounding Epstein and his ties to other influential figures, including Donald Trump, has split the Republican Party in recent months; among those calling for a more transparent investigation of the matter is Boebert.
Although there have been no charges against Trump yet, Ghislaine Maxwell, long associated with Epstein and previously convicted of trafficking in minors, told Blanche in a summer interview that she did not see wrongdoing, including on Trump’s part.
On Capitol Hill, three Republican House members – Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Nancy Mace – joined the initiative of Representatives Thomas Massie (Kentucky Republican) and Ro Khanna (California Democrat) to push for a vote on the disclosure of the documents on the floor. The event is expected to receive the 218th endorsement from Representative Adelita Grijalva on Wednesday afternoon, enabling movement toward a vote.
If someone, such as Boebert, withdraws their signature from the petition, Massie and Khanna will no longer have enough support to move forward.
Under the unusual procedural rule for House consideration, if 218 members of the House – the majority of the 435 – sign on, they can force a floor vote on any issue – even if leadership opposes it. Such moves rarely end in success.
This story is developing and will be updated.
