Overview
- Rep. Thomas Massie alleged in a Wednesday interview with Tucker Carlson that President Trump vetoed a Colorado water bill to retaliate against Rep. Lauren Boebert for backing a push to release Epstein-related files.
- The targeted measure was the bipartisan Finish the Arkansas Valley Conduit Act, a plan to complete a 130-mile pipeline intended to bring clean water to tens of thousands of residents in southeast Colorado and counted as one of only two vetoes this term.
- Massie said Boebert was taken to the White House Situation Room and pressed to remove her name from a discharge petition that, with 214 Democrats and four Republicans, forced a vote on releasing the files.
- News outlets across the spectrum reported Massie’s on-record claims, and the White House did not immediately comment, leaving the account without independent corroboration.
- Separate from the dispute, the Epstein Files Transparency Act ultimately passed with broad support and became law after the president had labeled the effort a “Democrat hoax.”