Trump ‘panicked’ as House moves to back Epstein bill in ‘substantial  numbers': Dem

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee predicted Saturday that next week’s vote on releasing files on Jeffrey Epstein would pass “with substantial numbers,” and described President Donald Trump’s various efforts to block the vote as the president “completely panicked.”

“[Trump] is completely panicked,” said Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, which carries subpoena power and has been actively investigating Epstein and potential co-conspirators, speaking on MSNBC Saturday.

“He is desperate. He knows the American public is all now lining up to fight to ensure that the release of the files actually happens, and he's doing everything that he can to intimidate, to politicize and weaponize the government to stop the files from being released.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was forced to schedule a vote next week on a bill that would compel the Justice Department to release all of its files on Epstein after a discharge petition secured enough signatures in the House to move forward.

Trump has reportedly made efforts to block the impending vote, including by pressuring the handful of House Republicans who signed onto the petition to withdraw their names, an effort that was ultimately unsuccessful. He also reportedly held an emergency meeting in the Situation Room to discuss the impending vote, and has launched attacks against Republican lawmakers who’ve supported the efforts.

With the vote on the bill just days away, Garcia predicted that it would sail through the House without issue.

“Now, we know that [what’s in] the DOJ dwarfs what we've already seen through [Epstein's] estate. For us to solve this case, for us to get justice for these women and survivors – who were in many cases children when they were raped and abused – we have to get access to the full Epstein files at the DOJ,” Garcia said.

“They are under subpoena right now from our committee, they've been unresponsive, and now, they're forcing the entire Congress to take this vote. It's going to pass with substantial numbers, and they have to release these files… we are not going to budge.”

Rep. Melania Stansbury (D-NM), Garcia’s colleague on the House Oversight Committee, just moments earlier predicted that the fallout from Epstein would likely lead to a scandal for the Trump administration as “explosive as Watergate,” something that would likely spell the end for Trump. Echoing her remarks, Garcia said it was evident to him that Trump was engaged in a cover-up.

“I think the one thing that has become crystal clear this week is that this is a White House cover-up, and that Donald Trump is absolutely hiding something,” Garcia said.