Epstein files: US House of Representatives votes 427-1 to compel Justice Department to release all documents

The US House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill to force the Justice Department to release all of the case files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The House, which is Republican Party controlled following the 2024 US election, sent a clear message to Americans and the US President: Release the files relating to convicted paedophile and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

There were 427 votes for the bill, with only a single Republican voting against.

US President Donald Trump had previously been resistant to releasing the files, however, he performed a stunning U-turn on Sunday night as more Republicans made clear that they were voting in favour of declassification.

“House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown’,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.

“The Department of Justice has already turned over tens of thousands of pages to the Public on ‘Epstein,’ are looking at various Democrat operatives (Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman, Larry Summers, etc.) and their relationship to Epstein, and the House Oversight Committee can have whatever they are legally entitled to.

“I DON’T CARE!”

What happens now the House has voted to release the Epstein files?

Th bill, called the Epstein Files Transparency Act, still has some bureaucratic hurdles to pass.

Now the House has unanimously passed it, it will go to the Senate for endorsement.

The overwhelming support the bill received in the House from US Representatives could lead to an uncomfortable scenario in the Senate.

If US Senators vote against the bill, they will likely be seen as attempting to prevent disclosure. Commentators believe the mounting pressure, and support, will force Senators to support the bill continuing on.

If the bill passes the Senate, The Epstein Files Transparency Act would end up on US President Donald Trump’s Oval Office desk for him to sign into law. Ultimately, Mr Trump could still choose not to sign the bill, a precedent called a veto.

If Mr Trump was to veto The Epstein Files Transparency Act, it could return to the Senate and House for alteration, or be ditched entirely.

Mr Trump has not spoken since the bill passed the House.

Survivors speak before historic vote

Before the vote, about two dozen survivors of Epstein’s alleged abuse joined a trio of Democratic and Republican lawmakers outside the US Capitol to urge the release of the records.

The women held photographs of their younger selves, the age at which they said they first encountered Epstein, a New York financier who fraternised with some of the most powerful men in the country.

Many Trump voters believe his administration has covered up Epstein’s ties to powerful figures and obscured details surrounding his death, which New York City’s medical examiner called a suicide, in a Manhattan jail in 2019.

“Please stop making this political, it is not about you, President Trump,” Jena-Lisa Jones, who said Epstein sexually abused her when she was 14, told a press conference outside the Capitol a few hours before the vote.

“I voted for you, but your behaviour on this issue has been a national embarrassment.”

Who voted against the Epstein files release?

The one lone Republican Representative to vote against The Epstein Transparency Act bill was Clay Higgins of Louisiana.

Mr Higgins has been a staunch supporter of Mr Trump since the get-go, so his choice to vote against the bill, in line with Mr Trump’s earlier message for Republicans until he performed a back-flip and told them to vote in favour of it, will spark intrigue.

More to come...

- with Reuters