The Republican-controlled Home of Representatives on Tuesday was set to overwhelmingly cross a invoice demanding the discharge of the Jeffrey Epstein recordsdata on Tuesday after President Trump abruptly reversed his strident opposition whereas nonetheless sustaining the scandal is a “Democrat hoax.”
As a bunch of Epstein’s victims made one other emotional plea for extra transparency, the Home was anticipated to vote practically unanimously to cross the invoice that Trump and GOP leaders spent months unsuccessfully attempting to dam from even coming to the ground.
The invoice is sort of sure to move to the Senate the place Republicans will face huge strain to additionally approve it.
“It’s time to put the political agendas and party affiliations to the side,” mentioned Haley Robson, an Epstein survivor, instructed reporters on Capitol Hill. “This is a human issue. This is about children.”
Robson mentioned she is “skeptical” of Trump’s motives in reversing course on the invoice.
Epstein abuse survivor Jena-Lisa Jones holds up a photograph of her youthful self throughout a information convention with lawmakers on the Epstein Information Transparency Act exterior the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday in Washington, DC. (Heather Diehl/Getty Photographs)
“I am traumatized. I am not stupid,” she mentioned.
Lisa Phillips mentioned survivors plan to construct a motion to reveal those that benefitted from or exploited Epstein’s intercourse trafficking ring and forestall future abuses.
“In a divided nation this is something we all share,” Phillips mentioned. “We intend to change this nation for the better.”
GOP Senate Majority Chief John Thune has been tight-lipped about bringing the measure to the ground for a vote however mentioned he would talk about the subsequent steps after the Home acts.
Home Speaker Mike Johnson sought to spin his reversal on the invoice as a push for transparency, and instructed GOP lawmakers to “vote their conscience” in a closed-doors assembly. He accused the proponents of the invoice of rejecting his supply of talks to tweak the measure, negotiations they mock as one other obstruction tactic.
Democrats declared victory over the GOP after a battle that stretched for months.
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters earlier than boarding Air Pressure One. (JIM WATSON/AFP through Getty Photographs)
“It’s a complete and total surrender,” mentioned Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York), the Home minority chief..
The invoice calls for that the Justice Division launch its case recordsdata on Epstein, a well-connected financier who died by suicide in 2019 whereas awaiting trial in a Manhattan jail on costs he sexually abused and trafficked underage women for years.
Trump admits as soon as being associates with Epstein however insists he minimize ties years in the past. Trump has by no means been accused of prison wrongdoing within the Epstein scandal.
After campaigning on a vow to launch all of the Epstein recordsdata, Trump dramatically modified his tune final spring when Lawyer Common Pam Bondi reportedly instructed him that his title options prominently within the paperwork.
The stonewalling marketing campaign sparked widespread discontent inside Trump’s MAGA motion, which had beforehand included a few of the most outspoken voices for full disclosure.
Epstein abuse survivor Lisa Phillips speaks throughout a information convention with lawmakers on the Epstein Information Transparency Act exterior the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday in Washington, DC. (Heather Diehl/Getty Photographs)
Trump unsuccessfully sought to maintain a lid on the rise up for months and Johnson assisted by blocking efforts to drive a vote on the measure.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers gathered signatures for a discharge petition, a uncommon legislative name requiring a vote. It requires {that a} majority of the 435 members signal.
With 4 Republicans becoming a member of all Democrats, the petition was caught slightly below the wanted 218 quantity for months till Democrats received a particular election to fill an Arizona seat left vacant by the demise of Raúl Grijalva. Johnson delayed swearing in Grijalva’s spouse, the newly elected Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Arizona), for a number of weeks, additional stalling the petition.
The invoice would drive the discharge inside 30 days of all recordsdata and communications associated to Epstein, in addition to any details about the investigation into his demise in federal jail. Details about Epstein’s victims or persevering with federal investigations can be allowed to be redacted, however not data as a result of “embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.”
It does allow the Justice Division to withhold supplies in an ongoing investigation, a loophole that might show vital now that Trump has additionally ordered up a brand new probe of Democrats he claims had ties to Epstein.
Whilst Johnson ready for an enormous vote in favor of the invoice, he mentioned the Senate ought to “fix” the measure in some unspecified approach.
Rep. Tom Massie (R-Kentucky) a insurgent conservative Republican who helped lead the Epstein petition effort, countered that he wouldn’t settle for any additional delays or deflection ways.
“It’ll backfire on the senators if they muck it up,” Massie mentioned.
