Graphic by Dani Ramirez
Written by Steven Mynott
On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in a 427-1 vote, with five representatives not voting. The act compels the Department of Justice to release all unclassified records related to the investigation of convicted child sex trafficker, Jeffery Epstein. The DOJ has until Dec. 19 to release the files and then until Jan. 5 to publish a summary of any redactions made to the files.
The bill was sponsored by Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California’s 17th district. Khanna says that his desire to release the Epstein Files is not about politics; it is about justice and closure for Epstein’s victims. He said this about the victims in the above linked interview: “And all they’re asking this country, all they’re asking progressives, independents, moderates, MAGA supporters, is to release the files so they can have some closure. Some of them do not have access to these files themselves. They need these files to help them remember what happened. And I hope this country can come together.”
Following the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act in the House, the Senate quickly passed it on the next day by unanimous consent. President Donald Trump then signed the act into law on the same day despite having fought against it for months prior to its passage in congress. After signing the bill, Trump insinuated that the Epstein files could reveal incriminating evidence against prominent Democrats, “Perhaps the truth about these Democrats, and their associations with Jeffrey Epstein, will soon be revealed, because I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE BILL TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES.”
Trump’s relationship with Epstein goes back to at least the 1980s. At one point, Epstein claimed that Trump was his closest friend. The relationship has led to a large amount of public speculation that Trump may be implicated in the Epstein files. In May, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi told Trump that his name does appear in the files, including on the flight logs of Epstein’s private jet, and in Epstein’s contact book. On Sept. 8, House Oversight Democrats shared Trump’s birthday note to Epstein, which includes a drawing of a naked female silhouette along with a cryptic message.
On Nov. 12, House Oversight Democrats shared a series of three emails from the Epstein estate which have led to even more speculation about Trump’s involvement in Epstein’s criminal activity. The first email is from Epstein to his long-time collaborator Ghislane Maxwell. It claims that one of Epstein’s victims and Trump spent hours at Epstein’s house together. The second email is from Epstein to journalist Micheal Wolff. At the end of the message Epstein wrote, “of course Trump knew about the girls as he asked ghislane to stop.” In the third email, Epstein appeared to be making plans with Wolff on how to use Trump’s involvement with Epstein as blackmail.
