On Tuesday, the United States Senate unanimously passed a bill requiring the Department of Justice to release more files related to the late billionaire and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The bill will now be sent to President Trump for signature.
Earlier that day, the bill passed in the House of Representatives with 427 votes in favor and 1 vote against.
The “Epstein Files Transparency Act,” introduced by Congressman Ro Khanna (California Democrat) and co-sponsored by Thomas Massie (Kentucky Republican), calls for the Department of Justice to publicly disclose all non-confidential records, documents, communications, and investigative materials related to Epstein in a searchable and downloadable format within 30 days of the bill’s enactment.
The bill prohibits the Department of Justice from withholding, delaying, or redacting files based on reputation or political considerations.
However, the Department of Justice may withhold records that involve victim identification, contain child exploitation material, jeopardize ongoing federal investigations or prosecutions, or depict images of death, bodily abuse, or injury.
According to the legislation, all redacted content must be accompanied by a written explanation, published in the Federal Register, and submitted to Congress.
Furthermore, the bill requires the Attorney General to submit a report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees within 15 days of the files’ release. The report must include a comprehensive list of disclosed and retained file categories, a summary explanation of redacted content (including legal basis), and a list of all government officials and public figures mentioned or involved in the public documents (without any redactions).
President Trump urged Republican support for the bill before the vote.
He posted on the social media platform Truth Social, saying, “House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files because we have nothing to hide, it is time to break free from this Democratic hoax created by radical leftists.”
President Trump stated that if the bill reaches his desk, he would sign it into law.
On November 17, Trump responded to reporters in the Oval Office, saying, “We have nothing to do with Epstein, it is the Democrats who are connected to him. His friends are all Democrats.”
Trump added, “I just hope people can acknowledge the remarkable achievements I’ve made in terms of prices and affordability – we have significantly lowered prices and will further reduce them in the future; in terms of energy policy, ending eight wars (believe another one will soon end), we have done extremely well. I don’t want this issue to overshadow the great work we have done, so I fully support this bill.”
During a press conference before the House vote, Speaker Mike Johnson stated his support for the bill but cautioned that it could prevent victims and other innocent parties from receiving adequate protection.
“I will vote to advance this bill. I believe the vote result may be close to unanimous because all Republicans present want to publicly demonstrate their positions and show maximum transparency,” he said. “And they also want to know that we are demanding the relevant issues to be addressed.”
Congressman Jim McGovern (Massachusetts Democrat) expressed the necessity of this bill.
He pointed out, “Fundamentally, this has nothing to do with us, nor does it have anything to do with politics. This is about survivors, those young girls exploited by powerful men. Men who abused girls using money and power, with some victims as young as eleven years old.”