The Senate on this Tuesday passed without delay to legislation that will mandate the disclosure of case documents concerning the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, following a near-unanimous vote in the US House of Representatives and a reversal by the president and his GOP allies. The administration changed course after months of trying to block the cross-party initiative involving a case that has plagued the president since his comeback to the White House.
Unanimous Approval in Congress
The Senate acted by general agreement, which requires approval from each senator but does not require a formal roll call vote, expediting the process. Just before, the House passed by a huge margin the bill on a near-unanimous vote.
“The American people have waited long enough. Jeffrey Epstein’s victims have waited long enough,” the Senate Democratic leader said in a address to the chamber on Tuesday, before requesting the chamber to adopt it by consent. “Let the truth come out. Let transparency reign.”
Presidential Signature
The bill next goes to Donald Trump for his endorsement. The president indicated on the previous day that he would endorse the legislation.
Though Trump has for an extended period dismissed the controversy over the government’s handling of the Epstein case as a “political stunt”, he signalled his support for the House bill over the weekend, and announced he would sign the measure if it reaches his desk.
Response
The Democratic party, along with survivors of Epstein and their advocates who were watching from a public section, broke into applause after the bill was passed. The sole “no” vote came from a GOP representative, who said he feared the measure would make public personal information of people, potential suspects and others involved in the investigation.
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