The House was convening Tuesday to consider a landmark vote on a bill that could compel the Justice Department to release all of its files on Jeffrey Epstein, a bill that President Donald Trump had fought fiercely against but reversed course on Sunday after calling on Republicans to support it.
The vote comes after a months-long effort from Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) to collect 218 signatures on what’s known as a discharge petition, a tool to circumvent House leadership and force a vote on a particular measure on the House floor. That measure is a bill that, if signed into law by Trump, would force the DOJ to release every file it has on Epstein, of which tens of thousands – if not more – are believed to exist.
Much of the files the DOJ currently holds on Epstein were collected during 2019 raids by law enforcement on Epstein’s properties, including his New York home – riddled with cameras – where law enforcement seized hundreds of lewd photos and other evidence, including CDs with hand-written labels with phrases like “Young [Name] + [Name],” and his private island.
Previous releases of files related to Epstein have all come from Epstein’s estate, subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee, a separate but parallel effort to release files on the disgraced financier. The limited releases thus far have included startling revelations, including that Trump may have “spent hours” with one of Epstein’s victims at his home, or that Trump may have spent Thanksgiving with Epstein while president during his first term.
Initially fiercely opposed to the bill that could force the release of files on Epstein, Trump made a dramatic reversal Sunday after claiming that he actually supported Republicans voting in favor of the bill. Critics, however, have alleged his shift to be part of a ploy to protect himself by having only a portion of the files made public.
Recent reporting has only expanded the network of powerful entities and individuals Epstein is believed to have maintained close ties with. For instance, Raw Story reported Monday that Trump’s former right-hand man Steve Bannon may have promised Epstein protection from prosecution as late as December of 2018.
Recent reporting also revealed this month that Epstein had done extensive diplomatic work on behalf of the Israeli government, including helping broker a defense agreement between Israel and the West African nation Côte d'Ivoire, helping broker a security cooperation agreement between Israel and Mongolia, and helping establish a backchannel between Israel and Russia amid the Syrian Civil War.