U.S. Representative Thomas Massie

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) erupted at House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Tuesday, before members voted overwhelmingly in favor of his discharge petition mandating the Department of Justice release files concerning deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Speaking to the press on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, Massie called Johnson and Republican colleagues "complicit" if they continued to obstruct full transparency of the Epstein files.

"He's trying to say that rich and powerful men who were on the plane to Epstein island are now victims, that they would be victims because their names would get disclosed. Like, look at his PowerPoint presentation today. He's creating a new category of victims," Massie told CNN's Manu Raju. "So, I think that's how a Christian man can stand up there and say a lie like that, because he's got something in the back of his head that makes it okay.

Massie said that if Johnson had legitimate concerns, he would have proposed his own legislation that would have fixed the things he took issue with.

"Look, the reason they're in there debating this is, we dragged him kicking and screaming into it. They hated it. They've tried to stop it the whole time. And by the way, I love Jim Jordan. He wouldn't give me 15 seconds of time to debate this bill on the floor of the House today. That's why I had to claim time during the debate," Massie continued.

He further commented that many of the lawyers on the House Judiciary Committee complain that releasing grand jury information is a breach of judicial norms. However, Massie said, judicial norms have already been breached in this instance.

"Well, what the problem is, our judicial system has been woefully broken and corrupted over the last couple of decades. And the Epstein case is an example of that," Massie said. 'He wants to create a provision of this law that would exempt the very people we're trying to expose, which are the men who flew to Epstein Island and or in, you know, New York City ... That's what the result of Speaker Johnson's legislation is that he wants."

"Now, he says, oh, we'll make sure that they are credible allegations. Well, this begs the question, is he calling the survivors who witnessed here today at the House triangle and our press conference incredible or uncredible or unbelievable? That's the implication," Massie continued.

"And these bozos here, they pretend like, okay, now we're ready to pull the band-aid off. After five months of shooting themselves in the foot, politically and morally, they're ready to pull the band-aid off. But the reality is, Speaker Johnson's press conference shows that he is unrepentant. They have a backup plan, and I think it's going to work poorly for them."

He also observed that "by the time they get done with trying to cover up, by having these other investigations or having amendments in the Senate," his colleagues will ultimately "make more people complicit.

"It takes somebody to offer those amendments, and then they're going to have votes on those amendments," he said. "And I would encourage them to pass this bill, as is. Put it on the president's desk."

One of the claims he called a "lie" from Johnson is that it would release explicit images of children, but Massie said there's a provision in the bill about that.

"Like, go read the bill, guys. It's right in there. It's got protections in there," Massie closed.

The final vote in the House was 427-1 with Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) casting the only "nay" vote.