The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives will vote Tuesday on a resolution to force the release of Justice Department investigative files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after President Donald Trump abruptly reversed his long-standing opposition.
Trump dropped his resistance late Sunday, days after a bipartisan House petition secured enough signatures to trigger a voteâan unusual move that defied the presidentâs wishes. Until then, Trump and his team had worked to block further disclosure of documents from the DOJâs probes into Epstein, a wealthy financier who once socialized with Trump.
âHouse Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide,â Trump posted on social media, calling the controversy a Democratic âhoax.â
Democrats and some Trump allies reject that claim, saying the files are authentic DOJ records tied to Epsteinâs history of sexually abusing and trafficking underage girls. Epstein died by suicide in a federal jail in Manhattan in 2019, shortly after being arrested on new federal child sex-trafficking charges. Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said Trump reversed course only after failing to stop the House inquiry.
A senior White House official, speaking anonymously, said Trump had grown frustrated with Republicansâ preoccupation with the files and wanted them to focus on economic issues. House Speaker Mike Johnson said releasing the documents could help dispel allegations of Trumpâs involvement with Epstein, noting that the resolution allows the DOJ to redact victimsâ identities.
âHeâs never had anything to hide,â Johnson said. Rep. Thomas Massie, the Kentucky Republican leading the effort, expects the resolutionârequiring a two-thirds majorityâto pass easily, possibly even unanimously. Massie warned, however, that the DOJ could delay releasing files by citing exemptions for ongoing investigations.
Trump recently ordered a new investigation into Democratsâ ties to Epstein.If approved, the measure will move to the Senate before heading to Trumpâs desk. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has not commented on whether he will schedule a vote.Trump has long denied any connection to Epsteinâs crimes.
Although the two socialized in the 1990s and early 2000s, Trump says the friendship ended long before Epsteinâs legal troubles. Newly released House committee emails showed Epstein believed Trump âknew about the girls,â though the context of that phrase remains unclear.
The White House said the emails show no wrongdoing. Last week, Attorney General Pam Bondiâwho previously stated the files offered no new investigative leadsâsaid she would follow Trumpâs directive to probe Democratsâ ties to Epstein.
The controversy has also strained Trumpâs relationship with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, once one of his most loyal supporters. He publicly labeled her a traitor after she repeatedly criticized Republicansâ handling of the Epstein files.
