US Congress approves release of Epstein files, set to send bill to Trump

Lawmakers in the United States have approved a bill to release government documents related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, clearing the way for making the files public.

The House of Representatives adopted the measure in a 427-1 vote on Tuesday, and the Senate swiftly agreed to pass it by unanimous consent, skipping a formal roll call, even before the bill was formally transmitted to the chamber.

Once the Senate is back in session on Wednesday, the bill will go to the desk of President Donald Trump, who has said he would sign it into law.

The case of Epstein – a financier who sexually abused girls and young women for years – has caused intrigue in the US for years, given his connections to powerful people in the media, politics and academia, including ties to Trump.

Trump initially opposed releasing the files, calling the controversy around the late sex offender a “hoax” before reversing course this month.

The president and the Department of Justice (DOJ) do not need to wait for Congress to pass the legislation to release the files. They have the authority to make them public.

Before the vote on Tuesday, members of Congress who have been leading the bill – Democrat Ro Khanna and Republicans Thomas Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene – spoke alongside survivors of Epstein’s abuse outside the US Capitol.

“We fought the president, the attorney general, the FBI director, the speaker of the House and the vice president to get this win. They’re on our side today, so let’s give them some credit as well,” Massie told reporters.

Jena-Lisa Jones, one of the survivors, held up a photo of herself when she was 14 – the age when she met Epstein.

“I was a child. I was in ninth grade. I was hopeful for life and what the future had held for me. He stole a lot from me,” she said.

‘All unclassified records’

Epstein first pleaded guilty to charges of solicitation of prostitution with a minor in 2008. He served 13 months in a minimum-security prison and was allowed to leave for 12 hours a day to work. Critics said the punishment did not match the severity of the offence.

After the Miami Herald investigated the prosecution against Epstein, federal authorities reopened the case against him, arrested him and charged him with sex trafficking of minors in 2019.

Two months later, he was found dead in his jail cell in New York. His death was ruled a suicide.

Epstein’s associates over the years included former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, former British Prince Andrew and former US President Bill Clinton.

Even after his first conviction, Epstein continued to have close personal relationships with influential figures, including former Harvard University President Larry Summers, who recently apologised for maintaining ties to the sex offender.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act, approved by Congress on Tuesday, requires the DOJ to release “all unclassified records, documents, communications and investigative materials” in the department’s possession that relate to the investigation and prosecution of the sex offender. It also requires that the documents be made available in “a searchable and downloadable format”.

It adds that the DOJ may withhold certain information that might “jeopardise an active federal investigation”, including the “personal information of victims”.

The lone “no” vote on the bill came from Republican Representative Clay Higgins.

The lawmaker, who is a fervent Trump supporter and is now in his fifth term representing a congressional district in southwest Louisiana, said he has been a principled “no” on the bill from the beginning. In a statement, he said the bill, if enacted in its current form, “reveals and injures thousands of innocent people – witnesses, people who provided alibis, family members, etc.”

‘Democrat hoax’

Following the bill’s passage in the House, Trump said he did not care when the Senate passed the bill and that he wanted his party to focus on matters such as closing the border, stopping wars and rebuilding the US military. Earlier in the day, he also lashed out at an ABC News reporter who quizzed him about why he would not release the files on his own, stressing that Epstein was a leading donor for Democratic politicians.

“You just keep going on the Epstein files. And what the Epstein is is a Democrat hoax,” the US president said.

Trump’s comments to another reporter who asked him about the matter on Friday have also drawn outrage.

In the remarks on board Air Force One, Trump snapped at the Bloomberg reporter, saying, “Quiet, quiet, piggy”.

CNN anchor Jake Tapper called Trump’s comments “disgusting and completely unacceptable”, while Trump’s niece, Mary Trump, who wrote a critical book about him, called the remarks “wildly inappropriate and despicable”.

Separately on Tuesday, when asked why Trump would not make the documents public, Massie, the Republican lawmaker, said Epstein’s connections were above partisan politics.

“I believe he’s trying to protect friends and donors. And by the way, these aren’t necessarily Republicans,” Massie said. “Once you get to a billion dollars, you see, you transcend parties.”