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House of Representatives on Tuesday passed law To compel the Justice Department to Make public all its files on pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. But it’s unclear when or if the files will finally be released.
The vote was nearly unanimous, with only one dissenting Republican, Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana, voting against the move.
While the 427-1 vote – in which five members did not vote – may in itself indicate a unified effort, it does nothing to indicate the path towards it. The vote in the House came after Republican leadership initially blocked the legislation, prompting Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to introduce a discharge petition, which received its crucial 218th vote last week when Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva of Arizona — who won a special election on Sept. 23 — was finally sworn in after a delay due to the government shutdown.
That forced House Speaker Mike Johnson, who had been blocking action at the urging of President Donald Trump for months, to act. Then Trump, over the weekend — in a 180-degree turn from his stance that the Epstein case and his victims’ pleas for public disclosure were merely a “Democrat hoax” — suddenly Urged Republicans to pass measure And said that if it is also passed in the Senate, he will sign it.
In the House gallery, several of Epstein’s survivors gathered and watched the final tally. When it passed the stage erupted in applause.
“I’m extremely hopeful, but at the same time, I’m also very skeptical because of all the obstacles we’ve had to overcome to get to this point,” Epstein survivor Haley Robson said. Independent,
Robson, who voted for Trump, said she regretted voting for the president and said she had several opportunities to speak not only to survivors but their attorneys.
“He said he’d sign it, so we’ll see what daddy does,” she said.
Still, Tuesday’s vote is the first step in a longer process before any files are made public.
The Senate may vote on this legislation this evening. And then there’s the matter of Trump Attorney General Pam Bondi was called in to launch an investigation. In Epstein’s “involvement and relationships” with prominent Democrats. Which he did immediately.
In particular, Trump Former President Bill Clinton, Democratic donor and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman and former Harvard President and Treasury Secretary Larry Summers were named. As to Epstein’s alleged associates, that could make releasing the full files more complicated as the Trump administration could claim the investigation is open by the Justice Department.
The law calls for the DOJ to publicly disclose all declassified records, documents, communications and investigative materials related to Epstein and his partner and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
Until Trump finally reversed himself and said Republicans should vote to release the files, only three Republicans – Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Lauren Boebert of Colorado – had signed the discharge petition.
“I don’t think it’s about face, I think they’re trying to save face,” Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) told. Independent About Trump and Johnson. “And we’ll see what kind of games he continues to play. He’s threatened people publicly. Now he’s broken up with his boo Marjorie.”
Johnson opposed the vote on the Epstein files and told reporters Tuesday he expected the Senate to make changes to the legislation after it passes the House.
Johnson described it as a “crude and blatant political exercise”, saying, “It should have been done in a much more careful way and it wasn’t.”
But emancipation petitions allow individual members to bypass congressional leadership and compel a vote if they receive a majority of signatures.
It languished for months after Democrat Adelita Grijalva won a special election in Arizona’s 7th District in September to replace her late father. Johnson Finally sworn in last week in Grijalva And Grijalva immediately signed the petition, allowing it to be filed.
But the vote threatened to break the Republican caucus. trump played a game of phone tag with messWho is running for governor but wants her files released as a rape victim.
also led Trump did not support GreenWho was once his biggest defender in Congress, and he called him a “traitor”. Before the vote, Greene said she hoped the Justice Department would not block the release of the names in the files.
“The real test will be whether the Justice Department will release the files, or this will all be tied up in the investigation,” Greene said at a news conference before the vote.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Senate would hotline the bill and that there would likely be no amendments to the legislation.
“When a bill passes the House with a majority of 27 to one and the President says he will sign it, I’m not sure there will be a need for an amendment or a desire for the amendment process,” he said. Independent,
During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump, who once considered Epstein a friend before reportedly falling out, said he would declassify information related to Epstein, a known predator of teenage girls who died in police custody during Trump’s first presidency. Vice President JD Vance also called for the files to be released.
Many on the right had hoped that the declassified files would reveal that many Democrats were friends of Epstein, a wealthy financier who obtained his money through mysterious means and was involved in his trafficking ring.
But in July, the Justice Department and the FBI released a two-page memo saying Epstein did not have a “client list” and that he likely killed himself. The memo caused a controversy on the right, including several Manosphere podcasters who supported Trump in the 2024 election.
Until then, Johnson had opposed releasing the files on the grounds that it might reveal the identities of many victims. But several survivors of Epstein and Maxwell lobbied Congress to declassify files related to Epstein.
The legislation will now go to the Senate, but there is no guarantee it will pass.
Massie, a prominent Trump opponent, offered a brief comment when asked about the shift in GOP stance after Trump opposed the Epstein investigation.
“The party chose the people, not him,” he told a reporter.