US Congress orders Epstein files release after Trump U-turn

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WASHINGTON: US lawmakers voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to release government files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after President Donald Trump opposed opening the books to politics, law enforcement and the nation’s elite.

The president had put allies in Congress under intense pressure not to make the material public, but the Republican leader threw in the towel over the weekend as it became clear that much of his party was ready to reject him.

Congress almost unanimously approved the Epstein Files Transparency Act — the forced publication of unsolicited documents detailing the notorious financier’s actions and the investigation into his jailhouse death, which was ruled a suicide.

Lawmakers say the public deserves answers in the case of more than 1,000 alleged victims.

Trump says the files will expose powerful Democrats’ connections to Epstein, but the president himself faces uncomfortable scrutiny over his years-long friendship with the man accused of pimping underage girls to rich and powerful men.

The bill passed the House with just one dissenting vote out of 428 members earlier Tuesday, and the Senate agreed to rubber-stamp the text and toss it directly to the White House, without a hand-counting vote, as it comes from the lower chamber.

Trump has promised not to veto the legislation, but Washington watchers aren’t expecting the new revelations to hurt.

The Justice Department has wide latitude to withhold information if its release would “jeopardize an active federal investigation.”

Meanwhile, Trump ordered officials to investigate Epstein’s ties to high-profile Democrats last week, in a widely criticized intervention.

The story has exposed a rare fissure in support for the Republican leader, who previously campaigned on releasing the files but reversed course after taking office, accusing Democrats of pushing a “fraud.”

After multiple attempts by Republican leaders to block the vote, all Democrats and four Republicans signed a “discharge petition” — an unusual procedure that forced the bill onto the House floor against the leadership’s wishes.

Underscoring his longstanding resistance, Trump said on social media late Sunday that Republicans should vote to release the files “because we have nothing to hide.”

“I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein,” Trump told reporters at an Oval Office event with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday. “I threw him out of my club years ago because I thought he was sick and bad.”

Long association

However, Trump had a well-documented relationship with Epstein, who was known for throwing parties and other networking opportunities for the rich and powerful.

The U-turn marks a rare occasion when a rebellion by Trump allies has forced his hand, and Epstein survivors at a news conference before the vote questioned the president’s motives.

“I can’t help being suspicious of the agenda,” said Haley Robson, who was recruited to massage Epstein at age 16. “I’m shocked – I’m not stupid.”

At the time of his death, Epstein was facing a federal lawsuit over an alleged sex-trafficking operation that was said to exploit underage girls and young women, following a 2008 conviction for procuring a minor for prostitution.

For years, Trump’s right-wing movement has encouraged followers to believe that the government is covering up a larger conspiracy.

But Trump’s Justice Department said in July that officials had completed a “thorough review” of the case and had no basis to release any Epstein material.

The White House ramped up efforts to mothball the vote last week, with Trump and his allies making a last-minute appeal to the two Republican signatories of the discharge petition.

This caused an uproar in Trump’s base.

The rift has been rife since Trump in a surprise break endorsed top loyalist Marjorie Taylor Green, who she said “is all over the Epstein files.”

“The real test will be, will the Department of Justice release the files? Or will they all be tied up in the investigation?” He said in the news conference.