The Republican-controlled US Congress has voted almost unanimously to release Justice Department records on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a measure President Donald Trump had opposed for months before abruptly changing his position.
The House passed the bill 427-1, and the Republican-majority Senate quickly approved it. Legislation could reach Trump for his signature as soon as November 17, with a senior White House official confirming he plans to sign it.
The Epstein case has been politically sensitive for Trump, who has faced scrutiny for his past association with the financier and for amplifying conspiracy theories about him. Epstein, a New York financier, was linked to many powerful figures and died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019.
Survivors of Epstein’s abuse called for the records’ release, appearing outside the Capitol with photographs of themselves as minors. After the vote, they applauded lawmakers from the House gallery.
Trump maintained he had no involvement in Epstein’s crimes, saying he had cut ties with him years ago. He criticised media coverage and called a reporter a «terrible person» during an Oval Office event with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Some Republicans, including Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, pushed for transparency, accusing the Justice Department of «protecting pedophiles and sex traffickers.» Marjorie Taylor Greene, another Republican, said Trump pressured her to withdraw support for the bill but she ultimately voted in favour, calling the survivors’ demands «patriotic.»
Epstein had pleaded guilty to a Florida state felony prostitution charge in 2008, serving 13 months in jail, and faced federal sex trafficking charges in 2019 before his death.
