The United States Congress approved a bill to release government documents related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, clearing the way for making the files public.
The House of Representatives voted with 427-1 yesterday, sending it to the Senate, which agreed to pass it by unanimous consent. Once the bill is formally approved, it will go to the desk of US President Donald Trump, who has said he would sign it into law.
The case of Epstein has sparked intrigue in the US, given his connections to powerful people, including Donald Trump. Trump initially opposed releasing the files, calling the controversy a hoax before reversing course this month.
Once the Senate is back in session on Wednesday, the bill will go to the desk of President Donald Trump, who has said he would sign it into law.
The case of Epstein – a financier who sexually abused girls and young women for years – has caused intrigue in the US for years, given his connections to powerful people in the media, politics and academia, including ties to Trump.
Trump initially opposed releasing the files, calling the controversy around the late sex offender a “hoax” before reversing course this month.
The president and the Department of Justice (DOJ) do not need to wait for Congress to pass the legislation to release the files. They have the authority to make them public.
Before the vote on Tuesday, members of Congress who have been leading the bill – Democrat Ro Khanna and Republicans Thomas Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene – spoke alongside survivors of Epstein’s abuse outside the US Capitol.