With Adelita Grijalva’s special election win Tuesday, she not only retained a seat held by her late father for Democrats and became the first Latina from Arizona elected to Congress, but delivered a key vote for a petition demanding the release of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Rep.-elect Grijalva has… pledged to sign the discharge petition to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files, bringing Democrats a 218th vote and a bipartisan majority to demand accountability and transparency,” said a Wednesday press release from the Democratic National Committee. It also noted that she won against Republican candidate Daniel Butierez, described by the committee as a “lackey” of President Donald Trump.
Grijalva, a lifelong resident of the Tucson area, was first elected to public office in 2002 and has championed for Mexican Americans and progressive issues. Her father, the late Rep. Raul Grijalva, died in March from complications related to cancer treatment. He served in the U.S. House from 2003 until his death. Now, his daughter will serve the remaining 15 months of his term.
“The younger Grijalva's victory was anything but a surprise in the left-leaning district,” Fox News reported. “Democrats enjoy a nearly two-to-one voter registration advantage over Republicans in the Hispanic-majority district, which stretches from Yuma to Tucson and includes almost the entire length of the state’s border with Mexico.”
While Grijalva’s win still leaves Republicans in control of the House at 219-214 (with two vacant seats remaining), the Epstein discharge petition is a bipartisan effort led by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), with the latter filing it. Those who signed the petition want consideration of H.R. 185, which would direct the Department of Justice “to make publicly available certain records related to Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell.”
Epstein, a financier who was known for making connections with wealthy and powerful people, died in his jail cell six years ago after becoming a convicted sex offender. Maxwell, a British socialite, is serving a 20-year prison sentence for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors.
Though Epstein died years ago, his name has been in the headlines all year due to controversy regarding the release of records pertaining to his case. Since his death, there have been rumors that he did not die by suicide, as officials have said. His alleged relationships with high profile people – including former President Bill Clinton, current President Trump and current Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – have contributed to interest in the case.
Attorney General Pam Bondi indicated earlier this year that more Epstein files would be released. However, the DOJ and Federal Bureau of Investigation then released a letter reaffirming the suicide determination and squashing hopes of more information being released. Following public backlash from both Republicans and Democrats, more information about Epstein has come out, including a “birthday book” that contains letters allegedly from Clinton and Trump, though Trump has denied that the letter allegedly signed by him is legitimate. Maxwell also gave a new interview and was moved to a different prison.
In addition to the effort led by Khanna and Massie, the House Oversight Committee is also conducting an Epstein investigation. Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) said in a Wednesday X post that the committee is “following all established rules of criminal justice procedure.”
“It’s a shame, what my friend Thomas has done, attempting to injure the Republican Party and ignore privacy rights of hundreds of innocent Americans who may have their life turned upside down because of his weird petition,” Higgins said of Massie.
Soon after, the Kentucky Republican clapped back: “With all due respect to my friend Clay Higgins, Americans are weary. Billionaires and politically connected men to whom Epstein trafficked women have been given a pass. The files DOJ released to Oversight are redacted and incomplete. This became obvious when [FBI] Dir.
[Kash] Patel testified.”
According to a Wednesday report from the Kentucky Lantern, Massie said he is going to force a House vote on the issue. Although Grijalva’s win in Arizona delivered the petition the signature it needed, HuffPost noted that “it’s unclear [Trump’s] DOJ would adhere to a request.”