Congress Passes Bill to Disclose Epstein Records
The upper chamber of Congress on Tuesday passed without delay to legislation that will mandate the disclosure of official records related to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, after a overwhelming vote in the lower house and a shift by the president and his GOP allies. The White House gave in after months of trying to forestall the bipartisan effort involving a scandal that has followed the president since his return to the White House.
Swift Passage in Congress
The Senate acted by unanimous consent, which requires approval from each senator but avoids a individual voting process, accelerating the process. Hours earlier, the House passed by a huge margin the bill on a near-unanimous vote.
The public have waited long enough. Jeffrey Epstein’s victims have waited long enough,” the Senate Democratic leader said in a address to the chamber on Tuesday, before asking the chamber to pass it unanimously. “Reveal the truth. Allow openness to prevail.”
Future Action
The measure next heads to Donald Trump for his signature. Trump stated on Monday that he would approve the bill.
Although Trump has for an extended period dismissed the uproar over the authorities' approach of the scandal as a “false narrative”, he expressed his backing for the measure over the weekend, and said he would approve it if it comes to him.
Response
Democrats, along with survivors of Epstein and their representatives who were present in a House gallery, cheered after the bill was approved. The only opposition came from Clay Higgins, who expressed concern he feared the measure would make public identifying details of people, potential suspects and others caught up in the investigation.
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