The House of Representatives voted Tuesday to force the Justice Department to release files on Jeffrey Epstein with only one member voting no.
What’s Happening: The House passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act by a vote of 427-1. Republican Clay Higgins of Louisiana was the only member to vote against releasing the files.
What’s Important: The bill requires the Justice Department to make public all files related to Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell within 30 days after it becomes law. The files must protect victims’ names and personal information.
Between the Lines: The vote came after months of fighting within the Republican Party. President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson tried to block the vote for months. Trump called the issue a hoax but changed his mind over the weekend and told Republicans to vote yes.
- Four Republicans, including Georgia’s Marjorie Taylor Greene and all Democrats signed a petition to force the vote after Johnson refused to bring it to the floor.
- Democrat Adelita Grijalva of Arizona became the 218th person to sign the petition last week, which forced Johnson to hold the vote.
Catch Up Quick: Epstein was a wealthy financier who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking minors. His connections to powerful people in politics and business have made his case files highly sought after by the public.
What Happens Next: The bill now moves to the Senate. Trump said he will sign it if the Senate passes it.
B.T. Clark is the Publisher of The Georgia Sun and author of Principles Are Like Pants… You Ought to Have Some. Over two decades in journalism, he has served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc., earning multiple awards along the way. His work has appeared in newspapers across the state, including The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal.
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