Journalism of Courage
Both the houses of US Congress approved the bill on Tuesday to force the Justice Department to release the Epstein files pertaining to investigation conducted in the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein case. The bill will now move to President Donald Trump’s office for his signature.
The bipartisan bill calls for the release of all the files related to convicted financier Epstein “in a searchable and downloadable format” within 30 days after it gets cleared from the president’s desk. The House of Representatives passed the bill on Tuesday with an overwhelming majority of 427-1 vote and the US Senate approved the measure unanimously after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged the senators to approve the legislation with unanimous agreement.
President Trump, earlier on Monday, urged the House Republicans to vote for the release of the bill as he reversed his course after his administration declined to make the Epstein files public. The US president had faced pushback from the victims of Epstein and a potential revolt from some Republican leaders who had vowed to vote for the release of all files, BBC reported.
Now that both the houses of US Congress have approved the measure, the House of Representatives will have to transmit the bill to the Senate and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise informed on Tuesday that the chamber has “started the process” of moving the bill. “I don’t know if it’s formally there but we’ve started the process of sending it over there,” Scalise said.
The Senate has approved and passed the bill before it receives it from the House but is now adjourned. This implies that the bill to release Epstein files would officially pass the Congress on Wednesday morning (local time). The bill will then land on President Trump’s desk around afternoon on Wednesday and according to a White House official, the president has not yet decided when he will sign the bill, CNN reported.
Since President Trump is hosting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud at the White House, his schedule remains packed on Tuesday night. The White House official said that the Trump administration was still waiting for the bill to arrive from Capitol Hill. After Trump gives his assent, the Justice Department will have 30 days to release all files related to Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.
