The Senate on this Tuesday passed without delay to a bill that will mandate the disclosure of investigative files associated with the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, after a near-unanimous vote in the House of Representatives and a shift by the president and his GOP allies. The administration relented after months of trying to block the bipartisan effort involving a case that has plagued the president since his return to the White House.
Swift Passage in Both Chambers
The Senate acted by general agreement, which needs acceptance from each senator but avoids a recorded vote, speeding up the process. Hours earlier, the House overwhelmingly approved the bill on a 427-1 tally.
“The American people have endured sufficient delay. Jeffrey Epstein’s victims have waited patiently,” the Senate Democratic leader stated in a address to the chamber on Tuesday, before asking the Senate to adopt it by consent. “Let the truth come out. Ensure full disclosure.”
Presidential Signature
The measure next goes to Trump for his endorsement. The president signaled on Monday that he would sign the measure.
Even though Trump has for months dismissed the controversy over the government’s handling of the Epstein case as a “false narrative”, he expressed his backing for the House bill over the past few days, and announced he would sign the measure if it comes to him.
Response
The Democratic party, along with those affected and their representatives who were seated in a public section, cheered after the bill was approved. Lone dissent came from Clay Higgins, who expressed concern he was concerned the measure would make public specific data of witnesses, those under scrutiny and others caught up in the investigation.
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