What’s next for the Epstein files after Trump’s social media posts

By STEPHEN GROVES MATT BROWN and JOEY CAPPELLETTI WASHINGTON AP The House is heading towards a vote on a bill to force the Justice Department to release the scenario files it has collected on the late financier Jeffrey Epstein pushing past a monthslong effort by President Donald Trump and Republican leaders to stymie the effort Related Articles NIH funding cuts have affected over people enrolled in experiments a new overview says One issue is uniting Americans in a time of polarization according to a new poll In reversal Trump says House Republicans should vote to release Epstein files Trump s Republican Party insists there s no affordability emergency and dismisses electoral contest losses Trump cuts ties with Wacky Marjorie Taylor Greene once among his top MAGA-world defenders The push for more disclosure in the years-old sex trafficking probe into Epstein has come roaring back since the House returned to Washington after a nearly two-month absence during the governing body shutdown As lawmakers returned last week they were greeted by new details from a tranche of Epstein s emails including maintains that Trump had spent hours at Epstein s house with a sex trafficking victim and that he knew about the girls The new revelations and the coming vote indicated one of the rare instances where Trump has not been able to exhibit almost total control over his party Yet the sex trafficking development into Epstein has only grown in political influence since Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial in He faced charges that he sexually abused and trafficked underage girls and since then countless more have commented they were abused by the well-connected financier Now a great number of lawmakers say that the Justice Department also requirements to release its occurrence files on Epstein arguing that it could show that other people were aware of or complicit in Epstein s sexual abuse House Democrats joined by a limited key Republicans have been able to force a vote on the bill to do that by using a rarely productive measure called a discharge petition As it became apparent that the bill will pass the House the majority likely with substantial backing from Republican lawmakers Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson changed their approach from outright opposition to declarations of indifference I DON T CARE Trump wrote in a social media post Sunday All I do care about is that Republicans get BACK ON POINT FILE Audrey Strauss Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York speaks during a news conference to announce charges against Ghislaine Maxwell for her alleged role in the sexual exploitation and abuse of multiple minor girls by Jeffrey Epstein July in New York AP Photo John Minchillo File Why is the House about to vote Reps Ro Khanna D-Calif and Thomas Massie R-Ky introduced a petition in July to force a vote on their bill the Epstein Files Transparency Act The effort was backed by all House Democrats and four Republicans Massie and Reps Lauren Boebert of Colorado Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Nancy Mace of South Carolina Minutes after Democrat Adelita Grijalva of Arizona was sworn into office Wednesday she signed her name to the Epstein petition pushing it to the magic number of a majority in the -member House Johnson noted following Grijalva s swearing-in that he would expedite the petition process to bring a vote on the bill to the House floor this week The speaker has pushed back on indicates that he has obstructed the Epstein regulation to protect Trump or others He described reporters last week that the Republican majority took issue with the phrasing of the measure which he claimed did not adequately protect casualties Johnson has also pointed repeatedly to a concurrent analysis into Epstein s sexual abuse that is being conducted by the House Oversight and Regime Overhaul Committee Republicans who control the committee have also focused on Epstein s connections to Democrats including former President Bill Clinton It was the oversight panel that disclosed Epstein s emails part of pages of documents that it obtained from Epstein s estate The committee has also subpoenaed the Justice Department for its event files on Epstein but Democrats on the committee say the response has been insufficient What does the bill do The bill would force the Justice Department to release all files and communications related to Epstein as well as any information about the inquiry into his death in federal prison Information about Epstein s sufferers or continuing federal investigations would be allowed to be redacted per the bill The department however would not be allowed to redact information due to embarrassment reputational harm or political sensitivity including to any cabinet official population figure or foreign dignitary Several survivors of Epstein s abuse joined by lawmakers also plan to speak outside the Capitol on Tuesday morning Is it going to pass The bill will almost certainly pass the House but its future in the Senate is a different story It already has backing from a majority of the House and more Republicans are expected to vote for it as they respond to demands from their voters The tougher test will come in the Senate where Republicans hold a majority Questioned in September whether the Senate would take up the Epstein bill if it passed the House Senate Majority Leader John Thune R-S D noted I can t comment on that at this point Thune added that the Justice Department has already disclosed tons of files related to this matter I trust them in terms of having the confidence that they ll get as much information out there as practicable in a way that protects the rights of the casualties Thune disclosed Will Trump stop it If the measure passes both chambers of Congress it would go to Trump He could try to stop it with a veto but he would also be under enormous pressure to sign it Trump lobbied two Republicans last week to try to stop the House discharge petition But after that was unsuccessful he seemed to change his approach to the bill We have nothing to hide and it s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party Trump wrote on social media late Sunday after landing at Joint Base Andrews following a weekend in Florida A president s veto could also be overridden with a two-thirds vote in both chambers That has only happened twice since Massie suggested Trump can avoid the entire ordeal by releasing all the Epstein files held by the federal administration There s still time for him to be the hero Massie revealed of Trump