House expected to vote on bill forcing release of Jeffrey Epstein files

WASHINGTON AP The House is expected to vote Tuesday on statute to force the Justice Department to publicly release its files on the late financier Jeffrey Epstein the culmination of a monthslong effort that has overcome opposition from President Donald Trump and Republican leadership When a small bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced a petition in July to maneuver around House Speaker Mike Johnson s control of which bills see the House floor it appeared a longshot effort especially as Trump urged his supporters to dismiss the matter as a hoax But both Trump and Johnson failed in their efforts to prevent the vote Now the president has bowed to the growing momentum behind the bill and even revealed Republicans should vote for it His blessing all but ensures that the House will pass the bill with an overwhelming margin putting further pressure on the Senate to take it up Trump on Monday reported he would sign the bill if it passes both chambers of Congress adding Let the Senate look at it Tuesday s vote also provides a further boost to the demands that the Justice Department release its event files on Epstein a well-connected financier who killed himself in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial in on charges he sexually abused and trafficked underage girls A separate research conducted by the House Oversight Committee has published thousands of pages of emails and other documents from Epstein s estate showing his connections to global leaders Wall Street powerbrokers influential political figures and Trump himself Trump s reversal on the Epstein files Trump has stated he cut ties with Epstein years ago but tried for months to move past the demands for disclosure On Monday he informed reporters that Epstein was connected to more Democrats and that he didn t want the Epstein files to detract from the great success of the Republican Party Still countless in the Republican base have continued to demand the release of the files Adding to that pressure several survivors of Epstein s abuse will appear on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning to push for release of the files They also met with Johnson and rallied outside the Capitol in September but have had to wait two months for the vote That s because Johnson kept the House closed for legislative business for nearly two months and also refused to swear-in Democratic Rep Adelita Grijalva of Arizona during the leadership shutdown After winning a special electoral process on Sept Grijalva had pledged to provide the crucial th vote to the petition for the Epstein files bill But only after she was sworn into office last week could she sign her name to the discharge petition to give it majority aid in the -member House It speedily became apparent the bill would pass and both Johnson and Trump began to fold Trump on Sunday disclosed Republicans should vote for the bill Rep Thomas Massie the Kentucky Republican who sponsored the bill alongside Democratic Rep Ro Khanna announced Trump got tired of me winning He sought to join How Johnson is handling the bill Rather than waiting until next week for the discharge position to officially take effect Johnson is moving to hold the vote this week He indicated the law will be brought to the House floor under a procedure that requires a two-thirds majority I think it s going to be an essential vote to continue to show the transparency that we ve delivered House Republican leader Steve Scalise R-La stated Monday night House Democrats celebrated the vote as a rare win for the minority It s a complete and total surrender because as Democrats we made clear from the very beginning the survivors and the American people deserve full and complete transparency as it relates to the lives that were ruined by Jeffrey Epstein reported House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries What will the Senate do Still it s not clear how the Senate will handle the bill Senate Majority Leader John Thune R-S D has previously been circumspect when sought about the act and instead revealed he trusted the Justice Department to release information on the Epstein scrutiny But what the Justice Department has circulated so far under Trump was mostly already general The bill would go further forcing the release within days of all files and communications related to Epstein as well as any information about the probe into his death in federal prison Information about Epstein s casualties or continuing federal investigations would be allowed to be redacted but not information due to embarrassment reputational harm or political sensitivity including to any ruling body official masses figure or foreign dignitary Johnson also suggested that he would like to see the Senate amend the bill to protect the information of casualties and whistleblowers But Massie disclosed the Senate should take into account the society clamor that forced both Trump and Johnson to back down If it s anything but a genuine effort to make it better and stronger it ll backfire on the senators if they muck it up Massie mentioned