The Epstein Files are one step closer to being released.
In a 427-1 vote, the Republican-majority U.S. House on Tuesday passed a bill to release the files. The vote was almost unanimous — Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) said he voted against the measure because it was too broad and would reveal the identities of witnesses and family members. He said he would support the bill if it is amended and brought to another vote.
Hours after the House vote, the Senate approved the bill via unanimous consent, even though House Speaker Mike Johnson wanted the Senate to amend the bill to include more protections for survivors and whistleblowers. Days ago, the bill seemed destined to die in the Senate along partisan lines. But President Donald Trump succumbed to widespread pressure — including from his own supporters — to back the legislation.
Trump has said he will sign the bill, if Congress passes it. Once he does, Attorney General Pam Bondi would have 30 days to make all unclassified materials that the Justice Department and federal investigators have on the case public.
But don’t be surprised if there isn’t a huge reveal of big names involved in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring. Legal experts told Time Magazine that the DOJ may have a loophole: The bill contains a provision to protect ongoing legal matters. That means Trump’s decision to have the DOJ investigate Democratic links to Epstein could allow the department to release little, if any, information as the probe goes on. The House Oversight Committee, however, may continue to receive some documents and it could release them, as it did with the emails in which Epstein alleged Trump knew about the financier’s sexual abuse of underage girls.
