US House approves bill to release Epstein files with 427-1 votes

The US House first debated on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which will force the justice department to make all the related files public.

The US House of Representatives on Tuesday approved the bill to release the Epstein files with a near-unanimous vote count of 427-1. The bill, which will force the justice department to publicly release the files related to the convicted sex offender, will now be sent to the Senate for approval.

After the Epstein Files Transparency Act is passed in the House, the next step is for it to pass in the US Senate. (AP)

The latest development comes after President Donald Trump, a once close friend of Epstein, took a U-turn in his opposition to the release of the files, endorsing the legislation to make the files public.

Only Rep Clay Higgins, a Louisiana Republican who is dubbed a fervent supporter of Trump, voted no to the legislation. Higgins also chairs a sub-committee that initiated a subpoena on the Justice Department for the Epstein files.

The House vote has further mounted pressure on the Trump administration and lawmakers to meet the long-standing demands that the DoJ release its case files on Epstein, a well-connected financier who died by suicide inside a Manhattan prison while awaiting trial in 2019 on the charges of sexually abusing and trafficking underage girls.

Bill reached House after months of struggle

Following months of struggle since a small bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced a petition in July, the Epstein Files Transparency Act reached the floor of the US House of Representatives.

What appeared to be a long-shot effort, considering President Trump's aversion to the release of the Epstein files, became possible as both the Republican leader and House Speaker Mike Johnson failed in their efforts to prevent the vote.

Trump used to oppose the public release of the files, urging his supporters to dismiss the matter as a "hoax".

Just ahead of the vote as well, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump had said that talking about Epstein is a "Democrat hoax".

However, amid the growing speed of the momentum demanding the release of the Epstein files, Trump reversed his opposition and bowed to the bill, saying that he will sign it if it also passes the Senate.

Earlier on Sunday, Trump had even asked Republicans to vote for the bill. However, Greene also told reporters that Trump's decision to oppose the bill had betrayed his Make America Great Again movement. "Watching this turn into a fight ripped MAGA apart," she added.

Nothing to do with Epstein, says Trump

Earlier in the White House, Donald Trump also dismissed reports of his connection to Epstein and said he had nothing to do with the convicted sex offender. He said that he threw Jeffrey Epstein out of his club several years ago as he was a "sick pervert".

However, Trump alleged that Bill Clinton and Larry Summers have something to do with Epstein.

Trump also refuted reports of Epstein giving him money and said, "He gave me none, zero, no money to me. But he gave money to Democrats. And people are wise to your hoax."

Fought so hard, says Rep Marjorie Greene

Standing with some survivors of Epstein's abuse outside the Capitol on Tuesday morning, Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene said that the affected women have fought the "most horrific fight" that no woman should have to fight.

She said the survivors fought the battle by banding together and never giving up. "That's what we did by fighting so hard against the most powerful people in the world, even the President of the United States, in order to make this vote happen today," Greene added.

Democrats celebrate win

While House Speaker Mike Johnson called the bill a "raw and obvious political exercise", the Democrats celebrated their rare win.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said that this is a "complete and total surrender".

"“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,” Jeffries said.

Speaker Mike Johnson conducted the vote under a procedure that has a requirement of two-thirds majority, instead of waiting until next week for the discharge position to officially take effect.

However, Johnson also listed the problems he sees with the legislation. He argued that the bill could have unintended consequences by revealing parts of federal prob that are usually kept private.

"This is a raw and obvious political exercise," Johnson had said, but he also had said that he planned to vote for the bill. “None of us want to go on record and in any way be accused of not being for maximum transparency,” he added.

What happens next?

After the approval in the US House, the Epstein files bill will now go to the Senate. It remains unclear as to how the Senate will handle the bill.

The legislation will force the release of Epstein files within 30 days of all files and communications related to the sex offender, as well as any information about the investigation into his death in federal prison.

While information about Epstein's victims or ongoing federal probes would be allowed to be redacted, not information due to “embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.”

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said that he will make a move for the Senate to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act later on Tuesday and send it to President Trump for enactment.

Shortly after, Senate majority leader John Thune said that the Epstein bill could pass the US Senate by unanimous consent, possibly later on Tuesday, Reuters reported.