The US House of Representatives is due to vote on the release of investigative files related to convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
It is the latest move in a scandal that has troubled President Donald Trump since his return to the White House. Trump initially had resisted the release of more files, but changed his stance on the weekend, urging Republican lawmakers in a message on TruthSocial to “vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide.”
Trump’s dramatic shift came after it became increasingly apparent that the bill will pass the House, most likely with significant support from Republican lawmakers.
Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson changed their approach from outright opposition to declarations of indifference. Trump wrote in a social media post on Sunday, “I DON’T CARE! All I do care about is that Republicans get BACK ON POINT.”
Following Trump’s reversal, several House Republicans, including his close allies have publicly stated their intent to vote for the release of the files, meaning the measure could pass unanimously.
Speaking in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said that he did not want the Epstein scandal to “deflect” from the White House’s successes, and claimed it was a “hoax” and “a Democrat problem.”
“We’ll give them everything. Let the Senate look at it, let anybody look at it, but don’t talk about it too much, because honestly, I don’t want to take it away from us.”
Donald Trump
Trump’s friendship with Epstein has been a long-running scandal in American politics as the late disgraced financier had links to many other rich and powerful figures in the US and overseas.
Trump had previously said that he fell out with Epstein years before the convictions and he’s helped fan the conspiracies. As a candidate seeking re-election, he also promised to release the files on Epstein, who, investigators concluded, killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019.
Since resuming office so far though, Trump has failed to follow through. As President, he has the authority to order the justice department to release the documents in its possession, as he has previously done with the government records related to the assassinations of Martin Luther King and John F Kennedy.
The Epstein scandal is a core issue for a swathe of Trump’s rightwing base, some of whom believe in conspiracy theories that surround Epstein and his coterie of powerful friends and associates.
Unlike many other issues, the Epstein files have prompted rebellions from Trump’s supporters in politics and the media, calling on him to follow through on his campaign promise to release them.
Epstein Survivors Ramp Up Pressure
Meanwhile, several Epstein survivors have ramped up pressure on Congress to take up the measure.
In a video released by the organization World Without Exploitation that urges Americans to call their lawmakers and demand they vote to release more records, one of Epstein’s victims said, “It’s time to bring the secret’s out of the shadows.”
If the House passes the resolution, it would go before the Senate, where the Republican Majority leader, John Thune, has not committed to holding a vote.
However, an overwhelming House vote in favour could make it morally difficult for the Senate to refuse to stage a vote. Sixty out of the chamber’s 100 senators would need to back it, to overcome the Senate’s filibuster rule. The bill then goes to the President’s desk.
The bill, if enacted, would require the justice department to release all unclassified materials on the disgraced financier, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
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