With the House poised to vote on a measure next week that could force the release of files on Jeffrey Epstein, former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani said Saturday that President Donald Trump, despite his best efforts, had exhausted his options to block it.
“Is it your view that the White House can really do anything to stop this train from moving forward?” asked CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield.
“I don't think so,” Rahmani said bluntly. “I think politically, it's well on its way.”
Currently circulating in the House is a discharge petition – a tool to circumvent legislative leadership and force a vote on a particular measure or bill – that has received an adequate number of signatures to move forward, with the measure in question being a bill that would force the Justice Department to release all of its files on Epstein.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said this week that the House would vote on the bill next week, and in response, the White House had reportedly tried to pressure the handful of House Republicans who signed onto the discharge petition in an effort to get them to withdraw their names, though were unsuccessful.
CNN reported exclusively that Trump had even held an emergency meeting in the Situation Room to discuss the impending vote, with Trump having frequently attacked the select-few House Republicans who signed onto the discharge petition.
And now, just days away from House members going on record as to where they stand on the Epstein files being released, Trump appears to be out of options to block it, Rahmani suggested.
“There's no question it may affect the president's legacy,” he said.