TLDR
Nancy Mace signed the discharge petition as a survivor of sexual assault, chairs the Oversight subcommittee with direct DOJ/FBI jurisdiction, and has accused the Department of Justice of hiding "terabytes of data" from the public and from Congress.
A Survivor's Signature
Rep. Nancy Mace represents South Carolina's 1st Congressional District, anchored in Charleston. In 1999, she became the first woman to graduate from The Citadel's Corps of Cadets. She founded the Mace Group, is a published author, and has served in Congress since 2021. Her office is located at 1728 Longworth House Office Building, phone (202) 225-3176 (U.S. House of Representatives, 2026).
When Mace signed the discharge petition (H.Res. 581) to force the Epstein Files Transparency Act to the House floor, she described her decision as "deeply personal" — a reference to her own experience as a survivor of sexual assault (PAPER TRAIL Project, 2026). She was one of only four Republicans to sign, alongside Thomas Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebert. Out of approximately 220 House Republicans, these four were the only ones willing to publicly force the issue.
Like Boebert, Mace resisted pressure from the Trump administration to withdraw her signature. She held her name on the petition through its successful completion at 218 signatures on November 12, 2025 (PAPER TRAIL Project, 2026).
Subcommittee Jurisdiction over DOJ and FBI
Mace's committee assignments give her unusual direct jurisdiction over the agencies at the center of the Epstein file dispute. She chairs the Oversight Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation. She also sits on the Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement, which has direct oversight authority over the Department of Justice and the FBI (PAPER TRAIL Project, 2026).
This means Mace has subcommittee-level authority to convene hearings, call witnesses, and issue subpoenas related to both DOJ's handling of Epstein records and the FBI's role in the original investigations and subsequent file management.
"Terabytes of Data"
Mace has publicly accused DOJ of hiding "terabytes of data" from public release (PAPER TRAIL Project, 2026). This characterization goes beyond the 42% page-count gap — it suggests that entire categories of digital evidence, potentially including electronic communications, financial records, and multimedia files, remain concealed. She has also called for accountability for Prince Andrew, making her one of the few members of Congress to name a specific foreign figure in connection with the Epstein files (PAPER TRAIL Project, 2026).
What Charleston Constituents Should Know
SC-1 voters elected Nancy Mace as someone who has spoken publicly about surviving sexual assault and who has demonstrated a willingness to challenge her own party. On the Epstein files, both of those dimensions converge: she signed the discharge petition as a survivor, resisted administration pressure to withdraw, and now chairs a subcommittee with direct jurisdiction over the agencies withholding files. Her accusation that DOJ is hiding "terabytes of data" is not a backbencher's complaint — it comes from the chair of a relevant subcommittee with the authority to investigate. Constituents in Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Beaufort, and across the 1st District should know that their representative holds both the personal conviction and the institutional tools to press for full disclosure.
Mace's accusation about "terabytes" is consistent with the 98% blind spot — where released control room footage covers only 4 of 247 floor-level guard gaps. The 419 surveillance videos that were released show a staffing failure that her Federal Law Enforcement subcommittee has jurisdiction to investigate. Fellow petition signers include Rep. Boebert and Rep. Massie.
References
Epstein Files Transparency Act, Pub. L. No. 119-38 (2025). https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4405
PAPER TRAIL Project. (2026). Congressional oversight actions, March 2026 [Data set].
PAPER TRAIL Project. (2026). Discharge petition H.Res. 581 analysis [Data set].
U.S. House of Representatives. (2026). Member directory [Data set].
This investigation is part of the SubThesis accountability journalism network.