WASHINGTON — When Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., left Washington in July for the long summer recess, he had nearly a dozen Republicans ready to sign on to his effort to force a vote on his bill demanding that the Justice Department release all of the Epstein files.

By Annie Karni

The New York Times

When he returned Tuesday, Massie had just three still on board — and they were all women.

Each defied President Donald Trump in backing the effort, and each appeared moved to do so at least in part because of experiences that made them sympathetic to the accusers of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

On Wednesday, with the White House warning GOP lawmakers that signing on to the discharge petition demanding the ful

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