After President Donald Trump abandoned his opposition to unlocking the books on a scandal that has rocked politics, law enforcement, and the nation’s elite, US senators overwhelmingly approved on Tuesday to release government information on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Republican leader gave up over the weekend when it became apparent that a large portion of his party was prepared to oppose him, despite the president’s strong pressure on supporters in Congress to withhold the information.
The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the release of declassified documents outlining the inquiry into the disgraced financier’s activities and his jailhouse death—which was determined to be a suicide—was adopted by Congress nearly overwhelmingly.
US lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Tuesday for releasing government files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after President Donald Trump dropped his opposition to opening the books on a scandal that has roiled politics, law enforcement and the country’s elite.
The president had put allies in Congress under intense pressure not to make the material public, but the Republican leader threw in the towel over the weekend as it became clear that much of his party was poised to defy him.
Congress approved the Epstein Files Transparency Act almost unanimously — compelling publication of unclassified documents detailing the investigation into the disgraced financier’s operations and jailhouse death, which was ruled a suicide.
Lawmakers say the public deserves answers in a case with over 1,000 alleged victims.
Trump claims the documents will reveal the ties between strong Democrats and Epstein, but the president himself is under awkward scrutiny due to his long-standing association with the guy who is suspected of providing young girls to wealthy and powerful adults.
The Senate decided to rubber-stamp and send the bill directly to the White House without a hand-count vote as soon as it gets from the lower house. The bill passed the House earlier on Tuesday with only one dissenter out of 428 members who cast ballots.
Although Trump has promised not to veto the measure, observers of Washington do not anticipate any new, damning revelations anytime soon.
The Justice Department has wide latitude to hold back information if its release “would jeopardize an active federal investigation.”
Meanwhile Trump, in a widely criticized intervention last week, ordered officials to probe Epstein’s ties with high-profile Democrats.
The saga has exposed rare fissures in support for the Republican leader, who previously campaigned on releasing the files but changed course after taking office, accusing Democrats of pushing a “hoax.”
After multiple attempts by Republican leaders to block the vote, all Democrats and four Republicans signed a “discharge petition” — an extraordinary procedure forcing the bill to the House floor against the wishes of leadership.
Relenting on his longstanding resistance, Trump said on social media late Sunday that Republicans should vote to release the files “because we have nothing to hide.”
“I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein,” Trump told reporters Tuesday at an Oval Office event with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “I threw him out of my club many years ago because I thought he was a sick pervert.”
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