The Epstein Files Fight
Full chronology: The Epstein Files gathers every statement, vote, and filing in this saga in order, each linked to its source.
Rep. Nancy Mace's eleven-month campaign to force the release of Jeffrey Epstein's files began as a bipartisan legislative effort and ended as a collision with the Trump administration that, by her own account, cost her the 2026 South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary.
July, September 2025, The bill and the petition. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) introduced H.R. 4405 on July 15, 2025. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) filed a discharge petition on September 2, forcing a floor vote over leadership's objection. Mace was one of four Republicans to sign. On September 2 she also left a closed-door Oversight Committee briefing with Epstein victims early, posting on X that she was having "a full blown panic attack." Trump publicly warned signers off; Mace refused to back down.
November 13, 2025, Defying pressure. With the petition over 218 signatures, Mace publicly confirmed she had signed and would not withdraw: "I signed the discharge petition. I was one of four Republicans to do so."
November 18, 2025, The vote. The House passed H.R. 4405 427-1 (Higgins, R-LA, lone no). Mace on the floor: "Today is a historic day for every survivor across the country."
February 2026, DOJ reviews and escalating demands. Mace visited the Justice Department to review unredacted files, afterward declaring "your days are numbered" to named individuals and describing the files as containing redacted co-conspirator information. She disclosed that DOJ systems were tracking which files members opened, "It's creepy", and pressed the DOJ to explain why files had been pulled from its public website. In separate letters she demanded the unredacted SDNY co-conspirator memorandum and CIA disclosures about any relationship with Epstein. She also demanded that Bill Gates testify before Oversight under oath. (Gates has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.)
On February 15, when AG Pam Bondi claimed all files had been released, Mace flatly rejected that claim on X: "This isn't going away until people go to jail." On February 24 she said on NewsNation that terabytes of data remained withheld.
March 2026, Clinton deposition and the Bondi subpoena. On March 3, the Oversight Committee released video of Hillary Clinton's deposition; Mace participated in the questioning, and the exchange drew wide coverage. (Neither Hillary nor Bill Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.) On March 4, Oversight voted 24-19 to subpoena AG Bondi on Mace's motion; Mace called the Epstein case "one of the greatest cover-ups in American history." A second subpoena targeting congressional sexual-harassment settlements passed committee the same day but was later killed on a 357-65 House floor vote.
April 2026, Bondi fired. When Trump fired Bondi on April 2, Mace said she had "stonewalled every effort" to hold the guilty accountable. Mace also commended First Lady Melania Trump for advocating for Epstein survivors.
May, June 2026, The political reckoning. On May 29, Trump endorsed Mace's rival Pam Evette instead of her. Mace posted on X: "I voted to release the Epstein files. NO REGRETS." On CNN on June 7 she said: "If the price of an endorsement was to not vote to release the Epstein files, that is a price I am unwilling to pay." On June 9, she finished fifth (~12.1%) in the SC Republican gubernatorial primary and conceded: "I voted to release the Epstein files and lost some support for that." Massie (KY) and Boebert/Greene also faced political costs; Massie said: "Boebert, Greene and Mace have paid an enormous price for doing the right thing."
Sources: Congress.gov H.R. 4405 · Newsweek (Nov. 2025) · NPR (Nov. 18, 2025) · CNBC, Bondi subpoena (Mar. 4, 2026) · The Hill, Trump endorses Evette (May 29, 2026) · Washington Times, Epstein crusade (Jun. 10, 2026) · See also The Epstein Files and /wiki/epstein for the full narrative.
On the Record
Mace tweet: 'Full blown panic attack' after leaving Epstein victims briefing early
On September 2, 2025, Mace posted on X explaining she had left an Oversight Committee briefing with Epstein victims early, describing a panic attack she said was triggered by listening to their accounts.
Mace defies Trump pressure: "I was one of four Republicans" to sign the Epstein petition
On November 13, 2025, Mace publicly confirmed she had signed the discharge petition to force release of the Epstein files, standing firm after Trump pressured Republican signers to back down.
"A historic day for every survivor": Mace on the House floor as the Epstein files bill passes 427-1
On November 18, 2025, the House passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act 427-1. Mace, speaking on the floor, called it a historic day for survivors nationwide.
Mace demands Bill Gates testify under oath about his relationship with Epstein
On February 4, 2026, Mace announced a demand that Bill Gates testify before the House Oversight Committee about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
"Your days are numbered": Mace demands release after reviewing unredacted files at DOJ
On February 11, 2026, Mace spoke out after reviewing unredacted Epstein files at the DOJ, warning that princes, former presidents, and billionaires named in the records would be held accountable.
"It's creepy": Mace says DOJ is tracking which Epstein files members of Congress open
On February 11, 2026, Mace said the DOJ was monitoring which Epstein files members of Congress opened and when, calling the surveillance of congressional access "creepy."
Mace demands DOJ explain why Epstein files were pulled from its public site
On February 12, 2026, Mace pressed the DOJ to explain why Epstein files had been removed from its public website, warning that one accomplice could not account for thousands of victims.
"This isn't going away until people go to jail": Mace rejects Bondi's claim all files were released
On February 15, 2026, Mace posted a scathing social media thread rejecting AG Pam Bondi's claim that all Epstein files had been released, warning the issue would not go away until people were jailed.
Mace demands the unredacted Epstein co-conspirator memo from SDNY
On February 16, 2026, Mace sent a letter to U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton III demanding the unredacted 2019 SDNY memorandum on Epstein co-conspirators.
Mace presses the CIA on any relationship with Epstein and Maxwell
On February 17, 2026, Mace sent a letter to CIA Director John Ratcliffe demanding disclosure of any relationship between the CIA and Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell.
Mace says DOJ is withholding "terabytes" of Epstein records
On NewsNation on February 24, 2026, Mace said the DOJ had not released all the Epstein files and estimated the withheld material amounted to terabytes of data and potentially millions of documents.
Mace questions Hillary Clinton in released Oversight deposition video
The House Oversight Committee released video of Hillary Clinton's Feb. 26 deposition on March 2, 2026. Mace's questioning, including a heated exchange over Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and 9/11, drew sharply conflicting reviews, with critics saying Clinton bested Mace and Mace's own camp calling Clinton 'unhinged.'
"One of the greatest cover-ups in American history": Oversight subpoenas Bondi on Mace's motion (24-19)
On March 4, 2026, the House Oversight Committee voted 24-19 to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi on Mace's motion, as Mace declared the Epstein case "one of the greatest cover-ups in American history."
Mace's second subpoena targets the congressional sexual-harassment "slush fund"
Also on March 4, 2026, the House Oversight Committee passed Mace's second subpoena, targeting records from the congressional office that paid out sexual-harassment settlements on behalf of members, though the full House later voted 357-65 to refer the matter back to the Ethics Committee, effectively killing it.
Mace after Bondi's firing: "She has stonewalled every effort to hold the guilty accountable"
On April 2, 2026, the day President Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi, Mace issued a statement accusing Bondi of handling the Epstein files in a "terrible manner" and stonewalling the committee's accountability efforts.
Mace commends Melania Trump for advocating for Epstein survivors
On April 9, 2026, Mace publicly commended First Lady Melania Trump for her advocacy on behalf of Jeffrey Epstein survivors, a notable alignment with the Trump family even as Mace continued fighting the Justice Department over file releases.
"NO REGRETS": Trump endorses Evette over Mace; Mace ties the snub to her Epstein vote
On May 29, 2026, President Trump endorsed Mace's primary rival Pam Evette for South Carolina governor. Mace responded on X with "NO REGRETS," directly linking the endorsement snub to her vote to release the Epstein files.
Mace on CNN: releasing the Epstein files was "a price I am unwilling to pay" for an endorsement
On CNN on June 7, 2026, days before the South Carolina governor primary, Mace said that if Trump's endorsement required her not to vote to release the Epstein files, it was "a price I am unwilling to pay."
Mace concedes fifth place: "I voted to release the Epstein files and lost some support for that"
On June 9, 2026, after finishing fifth with roughly 12.1 percent of the vote in the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary, Mace said she lost support because of her vote to release the Epstein files and called it a choice made on principle.
After Mace finishes fifth in the governor's primary, a circulating post-election essay calls her collapse 'years in the making', Mace blames her Epstein-files vote
A post-election essay by writer Mike Broemmel, circulating on Facebook, frames Nancy Mace's fifth-place finish in the June 9, 2026 South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary as the cumulative result of years of staff turnover, feuds and controversy, 'the cumulative effect of chaos.' Mace finished last among the major candidates with about 11 percent and did not advance to the June 23 runoff between Pamela Evette and Alan Wilson. Mace has denied the kinds of former-staff accounts the essay recycles and attributes her defeat to her vote to release the Epstein files.
'I chose wrong if the goal was winning an election': Mace blames her Epstein-files vote for the loss
After her fifth-place finish in the South Carolina Republican gubernatorial primary, Nancy Mace attributed her defeat to her vote to release the unredacted Epstein files over President Trump's objections, and marked the loss with a baked-beans photo on X, a callback to a viral 2024 meme.