The US House on Tuesday passed a bill compelling the justice department to release the classified files linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The bill has now been sent to Senate.The bill passed 427-1, with the only no vote coming from Rep. Clay Higgins, a Louisiana Republican who is a fervent supporter of Trump. He also chairs a subcommittee that initiated a subpoena on the Justice Department for the Epstein files.This comes after President Donald Trump walked back months of opposition to opening a case file tied to one of the country's most notorious scandals.
A separate investigation conducted by the House Oversight Committee has released 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. In the United Kingdom, King Charles III stripped his disgraced brother Prince Andrew of his remaining titles and evicted him from his royal residence after pressure to act over his relationship with Epstein.Pushing for more accountability, the survivors of Epstein's abuse cast the current effort in Congress as a step towards accountability for Epstein's crimes after years of government failure under multiple presidential administrations.Meanwhile, Donald Trump had urged Republican lawmakers to vote to release files, saying that he and his party have nothing to hide.While talking to reporters, Trump on Monday said 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, many in the Republican base have continued to demand the release of the files. Adding to that pressure, several survivors of Epstein's abuse rallied outside the Capitol Tuesday morning. Bundled in jackets against the November chill and holding photos of themselves as teenagers, they recounted their stories of abuse.Trump was close to Epstein and they were photographed together on several occasions. But Trump maintained that he severed his ties with Epstein years before his 2008 conviction as they fell out over a real estate issue.
