On Sept. 2, 2025, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, moved to force a House of Representatives floor vote that would compel the Department of Justice to release additional files in the case of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Massie filed what's called a "discharge petition," a procedural tool that allows lawmakers to bypass the usual process for bringing a measure to a vote if at least half the House signs on in support.
In response, rumors spread online that the White House said signing the petition would be viewed as a "hostile act." The claim spread on X, Facebook and Instagram. Massie also responded on X to the White House's alleged comments.
"They're threatening anyone who helps bring true transparency and justice to the survivors," Massie said in a Sept. 3 post.
This alleged White House statement appeared to originate with reporting from reputable news outlets. NBC News, for example, said an unidentified White House official called supporting Massie's petition a "hostile act" in an email to the media organization.
The White House did not respond to an email from Snopes to verify that the quote legitimately came from one of its officials; we await a response. Snopes also reached out to several reporters who have shared the purported statement from the White House for verification help and did not immediately hear back. Thus, as of this writing, we have not rated this claim.
Here's the full statement provided to various news outlets and journalists, starting on Sept. 2:
Helping Thomas Massie and Liberal Democrats with their attention-seeking, while the DOJ is fully supporting a more comprehensive file release effort from the Oversight Committee, would be viewed as a very hostile act to the administration.
NBC News, CNN and the conservative Washington Examiner separately reported that the White House gave them the exact statement above. On social media, congressional reporters Cami Mondeaux at Utah paper Deseret News and Daniella Diaz at digital nonprofit news outlet NOTUS also wrote in Sept. 2 posts on X that an unidentified White House official gave the same statement to them. (It is common for official government communicators to provide the same statement to multiple journalists on an issue that has made the news.)
The statement referenced the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's investigation into the handling of the Epstein case. The Oversight Committee released more than 30,000 pages of Epstein-related records provided by the DOJ on Sept. 2, 2025, but Democrats on the committee said that after "careful review," they determined 97% of those documents already were public.
Massie said during a Sept. 3 news conference with alleged Epstein survivors that he expects every Democrat to sign onto his petition and was calling on Republicans to do the same. Only three Republicans, aside from Massie, have signed on so far: Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Lauren Boebert of Colorado.
As of this writing, should two more Republicans sign onto the petition, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson would be required to bring the Epstein Files Transparency Act, an effort backed by Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, to a vote. The