The US House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on Tuesday to release all remaining files related to the late convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
While some parts of the files related to Epstein’s indictment have already been released, first for sex crimes against minors and later for sex trafficking, many more remain sealed.
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Mr. Epstein is known for his interactions with celebrities and politicians, and the contents of these files have been a source of great speculation in the United States, particularly among President Donald Trump’s own MAGA supporters.
Tuesday’s vote was scheduled after President Trump changed his position on the issue and urged House Republicans to vote in favor of releasing the documents.
Here’s what we know about the upcoming House vote.
When will the House vote on the Epstein file take place?
The House will convene at 10 a.m. GMT Tuesday, according to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s website. The first vote will take place at 2pm (7pm Japan time), with the last vote scheduled to take place at 8:15pm (1:15pm Japan time on Wednesday).
Why would the House vote to release the rest of the Epstein files?
The House is currently voting on the bill, after President Trump said he would not veto it if passed by Congress.
Late Sunday, President Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “We have nothing to hide. It’s time to move on from this Democratic hoax perpetrated by radical left lunatics to distract from the great success of the Republican Party.”
On Monday, President Trump assured reporters in the Oval Office that he would sign the bill if it passed the Senate. “Of course we will. Let the Senate look at it. Let everyone look at it. But don’t talk too much about it,” he said.
This is a departure from President Trump’s previous position regarding the Epstein file. President Trump previously called the Epstein file a “Democrat hoax” and advised Republicans “not to be fooled.”
On November 12, during the recent 43-day government shutdown, President Trump posted on Truth Social: “Rather than giving up on Epstein or anything else, the Republicans involved should focus on opening up our country and repairing the tremendous damage caused by the Democrats!”
Did the Epstein file cause a rift within the Republican Party?
yes. While some agreed with President Trump’s previous position that the Epstein files were a obstruction of Democrats, many Republicans have joined Democrats in calling for the release of all files.
On November 12, Democrats and some Republicans gathered 218 signatures in support of releasing the files within 30 days, enough to force a vote on the bill.
On the same day, email records from Epstein’s estate were released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating Epstein. Some of the emails mentioned Trump by name and gave the impression that Trump knew about Epstein’s sexual misconduct with young girls, which Trump denies.
Republicans on the committee said Democrats intentionally painted President Trump in a bad light and “selected” the information. So this time, they said, they released 20,000 documents from Epstein’s estate to maintain balance. Many Republican documents also mention Trump, but generally in relation to his political career rather than any wrongdoing.
Republican senators joining Democrats in pushing for legislation to make all records relating to Epstein public are Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, and Nancy Mace of South Carolina. Massey was a co-sponsor of the bill along with California Democrat Ro Khanna. They first introduced the discharge bill in July.
A simple majority of 218 votes is needed to pass the bill in the House, which currently has 219 Republicans, 214 Democrats, and two vacant seats.
Fissures in the Republican Party over the Epstein dossier began to emerge in July, when the Justice Department and FBI released a memo saying a government investigation had found no evidence that Epstein had a specific “secret client list.”
The memo also reaffirms that Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan prison in 2019, which has also been the focus of considerable speculation online in the US.
This has infuriated right-wing activists and influencers who have been promoting conspiracy theories that Epstein did not actually commit suicide but was silenced by unknown people. Attorney General Pam Bondi also came under fire after appearing to previously say that Epstein’s client list was “on my desk.”
Who is Jeffrey Epstein?
Epstein was a billionaire investor who was born and raised in New York and was known for his interactions with celebrities and politicians.
He was accused of sexual assault in 2005 after the parents of a 14-year-old girl called police. Police also questioned other girls who had made similar complaints.
In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution and soliciting prostitution from a minor in connection with one victim. He spent 13 months in prison on a work release program that allowed him to leave prison during the day to go to work and return at night. In 2019, federal prosecutors indicted him on sex trafficking charges, but he died by suicide in a Manhattan jail before his case could go to trial.
The U.S. attorney in Manhattan also indicted Epstein’s ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is accused of being a co-conspirator in Epstein’s sexual abuse scheme. Maxwell was convicted in 2021 and is currently serving a 20-year sentence, which she received in 2022.
What is the relationship between Trump and Epstein?
Trump and Epstein were friends in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, hanging out in the same social circles and attending the same parties.
In 2004, the two got into an argument over a foreclosed beachfront mansion in Palm Beach. The Washington Post reported that President Trump outbid Epstein on the property. Since that day, there has been little public evidence that the two men have interacted.
In January 2024, approximately 950 pages of court documents related to Epstein’s prosecution were made public. The documents included testimony from Epstein’s victims who said they saw high-profile figures from Michael Jackson to Bill Clinton in Epstein’s company, including musicians, academics, and politicians.
The mention of someone’s name in these testimonies does not imply that they committed any wrongdoing, only that they were with Epstein or were in some way connected to Epstein or people known to Epstein. Trump was mentioned by name in those documents, but was not charged with any crime.
There is no sign of Epstein’s “client list” and rumors that this exists continue to grow.
This year, the Wall Street Journal published a letter Trump allegedly wrote to Epstein on his 2003 birthday. The letter, which Trump denies writing, featured a drawing of a woman’s breasts and was signed “Donald.” In July, President Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal’s parent company, Dow Jones, and its owner, Rupert Murdoch, over the article.
In one of the 2011 emails released by Democrats last week, Epstein told Maxwell that Trump “spent many hours” with one of his victims at his home, whose name was redacted in the Democratic release.
But an archive released by Republicans on the House of Commons Oversight Committee shows the name of Virginia Giuffre, who accused the disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (formerly Britain’s Prince Andrew before he was stripped of his royal titles last month) of rape and sexual assault before he committed suicide in April this year.
The White House later confirmed in a statement sent to the US media on November 12 that the victim was Giuffre.
Will the Epstein vote pass?
Massey told US media on Sunday that “there could be over 100 votes” from Republicans to release all remaining Epstein files. “When this bill comes to a vote, we hope to have a veto-proof majority.”
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson also said he believed the House would definitely support the bill.
“We just have to finish this and move on. We have nothing to hide,” Johnson said.
But Johnson reversed his position on releasing the Epstein files. In July, he asked the Justice Department to release all files on Epstein. However, later that month, the House of Representatives session was shortened to avoid a vote on his release. He said last month that he would not block a vote on releasing the files.
Mr. Khanna also expressed hope that Republicans would support the bill, but his estimate was more modest than Mr. Massey’s. He expects about 40 Republicans to do so.
If the House passes a vote on Tuesday, it will move to the Senate for approval. If it passes the Senate, it will go to President Trump for his signature.
