House Expected to Vote on Epstein Files11/18 06:09

   The House is expected to vote Tuesday on legislation to force the Justice 
Department to publicly release its files on the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, 
the culmination of a monthslong effort that has overcome opposition from 
President Donald Trump and Republican leadership.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House is expected to vote Tuesday on legislation to 
force the Justice Department to publicly release its files on the late 
financier Jeffrey Epstein, the culmination of a monthslong effort that has 
overcome opposition from President Donald Trump and Republican leadership.

   When a small bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced a petition in 
July to maneuver around House Speaker Mike Johnson's control of which bills see 
the House floor, it appeared a longshot effort, especially as Trump urged his 
supporters to dismiss the matter as a "hoax." But both Trump and Johnson failed 
in their efforts to prevent the vote.

   Now the president has bowed to the growing momentum behind the bill and even 
said Republicans should vote for it. His blessing all but ensures that the 
House will pass the bill with an overwhelming margin, putting further pressure 
on the Senate to take it up.

   Trump on Monday said he would sign the bill if it passes both chambers of 
Congress, adding, "Let the Senate look at it."

   Tuesday's vote also provides a further boost to the demands that the Justice 
Department release its case files on Epstein, a well-connected financier who 
killed himself in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial in 2019 on charges he 
sexually abused and trafficked underage girls.

   A separate investigation conducted by the House Oversight Committee has 
released thousands of pages of emails and other documents from Epstein's 
estate, showing his connections to global leaders, Wall Street powerbrokers, 
influential political figures and Trump himself.

   Trump's reversal on the Epstein files

   Trump has said he cut ties with Epstein years ago, but tried for months to 
move past the demands for disclosure. On Monday, he told reporters that Epstein 
was connected to more Democrats and that he didn't want the Epstein files to 
"detract from the great success of the Republican Party."

   Still, many in the Republican base have continued to demand the release of 
the files. Adding to that pressure, several survivors of Epstein's abuse will 
appear on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning to push for release of the files. They 
also met with Johnson and rallied outside the Capitol in September, but have 
had to wait two months for the vote.

   That's because Johnson kept the House closed for legislative business for 
nearly two months and also refused to swear-in Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva 
of Arizona during the government shutdown. After winning a special election on 
Sept. 23, Grijalva had pledged to provide the crucial 218th vote to the 
petition for the Epstein files bill. But only after she was sworn into office 
last week could she sign her name to the discharge petition to give it majority 
support in the 435-member House.

   It quickly became apparent the bill would pass, and both Johnson and Trump 
began to fold. Trump on Sunday said Republicans should vote for the bill.

   Rep. Thomas Massie, the Kentucky Republican who sponsored the bill alongside 
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, said Trump "got tired of me winning. He wanted to 
join."

   How Johnson is handling the bill

   Rather than waiting until next week for the discharge position to officially 
take effect, Johnson is moving to hold the vote this week. He indicated the 
legislation will be brought to the House floor under a procedure that requires 
a two-thirds majority.

   "I think it's going to be an important vote to continue to show the 
transparency that we've delivered," House Republican leader Steve Scalise, 
R-La., said Monday night.

   House Democrats celebrated the vote as a rare win for the minority.

   "It's a complete and total surrender, because as Democrats we made clear 
from the very beginning, the survivors and the American people deserve full and 
complete transparency as it relates to the lives that were ruined by Jeffrey 
Epstein," said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries.

   What will the Senate do?

   Still, it's not clear how the Senate will handle the bill.

   Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has previously been circumspect 
when asked about the legislation and instead said he trusted the Justice 
Department to release information on the Epstein investigation.

   But what the Justice Department has released so far under Trump was mostly 
already public. The bill would go further, forcing the release within 30 days 
of all files and communications related to Epstein, as well as any information 
about the investigation into his death in federal prison. Information about 
Epstein's victims or continuing federal investigations would be allowed to be 
redacted, but not information due to "embarrassment, reputational harm, or 
political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or 
foreign dignitary."

   Johnson also suggested that he would like to see the Senate amend the bill 
to protect the information of "victims and whistleblowers."

   But Massie said the Senate should take into account the public clamor that 
forced both Trump and Johnson to back down.

   "If it's anything but a genuine effort to make it better and stronger, it'll 
backfire on the senators if they muck it up," Massie said.