The vote marks a major step in a long-running effort to release government documents related to deceased sex offenders.
The US Congress has approved a bill to release government documents related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, paving the way for the files to be made public.
The House adopted the bill Tuesday by a vote of 427-1 and sent it to the Senate, which quickly agreed to pass it unanimously even before it was formally sent to the floor.
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If the bill is formally approved, it will go to President Donald Trump’s desk, who has said he will sign it into law.
The case of Mr. Epstein has long sparked intrigue in the United States, given the financier’s years of sexually abusing girls and young women and his connections to powerful figures in the media, politics and academia, including his ties to Mr. Trump.
Trump initially opposed releasing the files, calling the controversy surrounding the late sex offender a “hoax,” but reversed course this month.
The president and the Justice Department do not have to wait for Congress to pass legislation to release the files. They have the authority to publish them.
Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, the bill’s sponsors, Democrat Ro Khanna and Republicans Thomas Massey and Marjorie Taylor Greene, spoke outside the Capitol alongside survivors of Epstein’s abuse.
“We fought with the president, the attorney general, the FBI director, the speaker of the House, the vice president to get this victory, and today we honor them because they are on our side,” Massey told reporters.
One survivor, Jenna Lisa Jones, held up a photo of herself when she was 14, the age she met Epstein.
“I was a kid. I was in the ninth grade. I had hopes for my life and my future. He stole a lot from me,” she said.
Epstein first pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution of a minor. He served 13 months in a minimum security prison and was allowed to leave work for 12 hours a day. Critics said the punishment was not commensurate with the seriousness of the crime.
After the Miami Herald investigated the charges against Epstein, federal authorities reopened the case against him, arresting and indicting him in 2019 on charges of sex trafficking of minors.
Two months later, he was found dead in his cell in New York City. His death was ruled a suicide.
Epstein’s longtime associates included former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Britain’s Prince Andrew, and former U.S. President Bill Clinton.
After his first conviction, Epstein continued to have close personal relationships with influential figures, including former Harvard University President Larry Summers, who recently apologized for maintaining relationships with sex offenders.
On Tuesday, President Trump lashed out at an ABC News reporter who asked why he was not releasing the files himself, highlighting that Epstein is a major donor to Democratic politicians.
“Just keep looking at Epstein’s file. And Epstein’s true identity is a fabrication by the Democratic Party,” the US president said.
Earlier in the day, when asked why President Trump was not releasing the documents, Massey said Epstein’s connections transcended partisan politics.
“I think he’s trying to protect his friends and his donors, who, by the way, aren’t necessarily Republicans,” Massey said. “When you get to $1 billion, you can transcend political parties.”
