House Votes to Release Epstein Files

Donald Trump’s firm control of Washington showed signs of weakening Tuesday as nearly all House Republicans voted to compel the Justice Department to release its files on sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, whose earlier ties to the president have been the subject of intense scrutiny.

The overwhelming 427 to 1 House vote signals the legislation has strong chances in the Republican-controlled Senate and may ultimately be signed by Trump, who late Sunday relented on his prior opposition and directed House Republicans to vote to release the files. Speaker Mike Johnson urged the Senate to give the Justice Department more leeway to withhold files.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Senate could pass it as soon as Tuesday and signaled his chamber is unlikely to make changes to the bill.

The vote marks the latest political setback for Trump, whose party suffered election defeats earlier this month. He has also struggled to regain control of the narrative on the US economy, with concerns over the cost of living already the driving issue in next year’s midterms.

The latest CNN/SSRS poll said 37% of Americans approved of Trump, a rating that makes it difficult for many incumbent Republicans to run next year on the president’s record and risks creating fissures within the party.

A group of dissident Republicans, including three MAGA acolytes, teamed with Democrats to make an end-run around Republican leaders on Epstein. They ultimately bent Trump to their will rather than acceding to his demands that they drop the issue.

“We have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on,” Trump posted on social media late Sunday after the vote had been scheduled with enough Republican backing for the resolution to succeed.

Still, Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a long-time Trump ally until he broke with her as she campaigned for the files’ release, excoriated the president for his protracted resistance to disclosing information gathered in the investigation.

“Watching this actually turn into a fight has ripped MAGA apart,” Greene said in a press conference on the steps of the Capitol, surrounded by survivors of Epstein’s sex trafficking ring who offered dramatic accounts of abuse they suffered as teenagers.

“I’ll tell you right now, this has been one of the most destructive things to MAGA,” Greene added, “watching the man that we supported early on, three elections, for people that stood for hours, slept in their cars to go to rallies, have fought for truth and transparency.”

Only four in 10 Republicans approved of Trump’s handling of the Epstein files in an October Reuters/Ipsos poll. Perhaps even more telling for the GOP is that independents disapproved by a nearly six-to-one margin.

Trump has the power to order the Epstein files release without an act of Congress but so far not done so.

Representative Clay Higgins of Louisiana provided the only vote against the bill, citing concerns that it could injure the reputations of witnesses and others named in investigative files.

The disclosures “will absolutely result in innocent people being hurt,” he said in a social media post.

The legislation requires the release of all files and records, including investigations, flight logs, travel records, immunity deals, internal DOJ communications, and all records related to Epstein’s 2019 death in prison.

Trump may be able delay release of key files even if the measure becomes law. Trump on Friday directed the Justice Department to investigate Epstein’s possible ties to notable Democrats and the ongoing probe could prevent release of related files, Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who helped spearhead the legislation, said on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday.

Trump, who has repeatedly said he cut ties with Epstein nearly two decades ago and was not aware of the late financier’s activities, just last week pushed back against Republicans supporting a discharge petition to force the House vote.

He summoned one of the Republican signees, Lauren Boebert, to the White House Situation Room so his aides could lobby her to withdraw her name from the petition.

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