Senate Passes Bill to Make Public Jeffrey Epstein Files
The upper chamber of Congress on this Tuesday passed without delay to legislation that will mandate the disclosure of case documents associated with the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, following a near-unanimous vote in the US House of Representatives and a change of position by the president and his Republican allies. The White House gave in after an extended period of trying to delay the joint action involving a case that has followed the president since his comeback to the White House.
Unanimous Passage in Congress
Senators proceeded by consensus, which needs acceptance from each senator but avoids a individual voting process, speeding up the process. Hours earlier, the House overwhelmingly approved the bill on a massive majority.
“The American people have waited long enough. Jeffrey Epstein’s victims have waited long enough,” Chuck Schumer declared in a floor speech on Tuesday, before urging the chamber to pass it unanimously. “Reveal the truth. Let transparency reign.”
Presidential Signature
The measure next goes to the president for his signature. The president signaled on Monday that he would endorse the legislation.
Though the president has for months rejected the controversy over the official management of the scandal as a “Democrat hoax”, he expressed his backing for the House bill over the past few days, and said he would approve it if it comes to him.
Reaction
The Democratic party, along with those affected and their supporters who were seated in a House gallery, applauded after the bill was approved. Lone dissent came from a GOP representative, who said he feared the measure would reveal personal information of witnesses, potential suspects and others implicated in the investigation.
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