Senate unanimously approves bill to release the Epstein Files
Less than two hours after being approved by the House of Representatives, the Senate unanimously agreed to pass the bill
The Epstein files can now be released to the public after a bill entitled the Epstein Transparency Act passed through both houses of Congress.
At a vote, which took place on November 18, the bill, which earned bipartisan support from both Democrats and Republicans alike, was almost unanimously approved in the House of Representatives, with just one person voting against the motion.
It ordered the release of the Justice Department's files on late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with only GOP Rep. Clay Higgins voting against the motion.
The bill, which passed 427 - 1, was then transferred to the Senate, where it once again received approval in a matter of hours and is now due to be signed into law by President Donald Trump.
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Under the bill, Attorney General Pam Bondi will be required to release all 'unclassified records, documents, communications and investigative materials' in the Department of Justice's possession related to Epstein.
There will, however, still be some redactions, with victims' names and other identifying information excluded from disclosure, along with anything that may depict or contain child sex abuse material.
The Senate did not choose to make any amendments, despite pleas from House Speaker Mike Johnson, who had initially opposed the initial vote in the House until President Trump made a U-turn on Monday to agree to sign the bill should it pass.
What happens now?
“When a bill passes the House for 27 to one and the president said he'll sign it in law, I'm not sure that there's going to be a need for an amendment or desire for an amendment process,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said on Tuesday.
The bill has now been transferred to the desk of the president where it will be signed into law - a move which three months ago, scarily seemed imaginable.
Once signed, the justice department has a 30 day deadline to release all of the files.
A campaign to release the files has been in progress for many months, with a petition signed by every Democrat alongside Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Lauren Boebert of Colorado having stalled for months before Tuesday’s vote.
Even Trump himself called the petition to release the files a 'Democrat Hoax' back in September, the very same day that Epstein survivors, many of whom were strong supporters of the president, came to the Hill to plead their case.
However, when the vote seemed imminent, he made a surprising show of support on Truth Social, writing: “I don’t care when the Senate passes the House Bill, whether tonight, or at some other time in the near future.”
He did however, agree he would sign it should it arrive on his desk.
Trump himself has been dogged by claims he was one of Epstein’s wealthy clients and had been embroiled in his sex trafficking scandal, something the president has always strenuously denied.
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, Politics, Jeffrey Epstein
Phoebe Tonks