After months of delaying tactics and pressure attempts by Republican leadership, the House is set to vote Tuesday on legislation that would force the Justice Department to release the so-called Epstein files. The vote, expected to pass with the support of more than a dozen Republicans, marks a bipartisan rejection of the president. Donald Trumpwho called on his party to repudiate Epstein and vote against the resolution before changing course over the weekend after it became clear the resolution would pass.
This historic vote – and the months-long battle to bring the bill to the floor – caused splits between Trump and some of his closest allies, while I keep raising questions about the president's relationship with one of the most notorious sex offenders in American history.
As lawmakers prepare to vote, here's everything you need to know about what they'll actually be voting on, what's already become public, and what questions they hope to answer by releasing new information.
What are the Epstein files?
The documents, called the “Epstein files,” represent evidence and testimony collected by the Justice Department and FBI during two investigations and criminal cases against Epstein.
Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to aiding and abetting the prostitution of a minor as part of a controversial love deal with federal prosecutors. He committed suicide in federal prison in 2019 after being charged with sex trafficking of minors in a separate investigation. The files, held by the Justice Department and FBI, reportedly contain thousands of pages of testimony from witnesses and survivors, digital evidence, communications between Epstein and others, and potentially videos and images of sexual abuse of minors.
Since Epstein died in prison, only his close associate and longtime partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, has been tried and convicted in connection with the human trafficking ring Epstein ran. The lack of follow-up investigations and prosecutions of others identified by survivors as participants in their abuse has sparked widespread public interest in the contents of the files and the reasons why federal prosecutors were unable to bring additional charges.
Conservatives and right-wing commentators have for years called for transparency in the government's investigations into Epstein, while insisting that Trump would release the files once he returned to office. In July, following a public stunt in which prominent MAGA influencers were photographed at the White House with folders allegedly containing some of the files, the DOJ and F.B.I. pulled out the carpet from under their own motion, stating that they would not be releasing any additional indictments and that evidence related to the case would not be made public.
The resulting backlash continued for months, and the slow, steady flow of information surrounding the case brought increased attention to the president. Shortly after the Department of Justice made its announcement, Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was warned by the Justice Department that his name appears in the files.
Trump has repeatedly called the scandal a “hoax” perpetrated by Democrats. On Saturday he demanded that Attorney General Pam Bondi will launch investigations into other people named in Epstein-related documents, including former President Bill Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and LinkedIn founder Reed Hoffman. Bondi quickly agreed.
What does the House of Representatives vote on?
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives will vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which would require the Justice Department to release “all unclassified records, documents, communications and investigative materials in the possession of the Department of Justice, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Attorney's Offices” related to the cases against Epstein and Maxwell. These include flight logs and travel records, records of entities associated with Epstein, the identities of individuals “named or mentioned in connection with Epstein's criminal activities, civil settlements, immunity or plea agreements or investigative proceedings,” and internal communications between government agents discussing the case.
The legislation would allow the Justice Department to remove sensitive information related to the identity of survivors, as well as material depicting child sexual abuse, other violent crimes, or material that could jeopardize an ongoing investigation.
Critically, there is some evidence in the Justice Department's Epstein filings that cannot be released without court approval, most notably the sealed grand jury transcripts. Judges have recently rejected Justice Department proposals to release grand jury testimony in the Epstein case, although releasing transcripts is not unusual.
What about all the other material that has already been released?
So if Congress should force the DOJ to release all this material, where do things like the Trump page from Epstein's “birthday book” and the Epstein emails released earlier this month come from?
They come from an entirely different source: the Epstein estate.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, led by Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), worked with Epstein's estate as well as survivors to release evidentiary documents held by the late sex offender's representatives.
These include the so-called “birthday book” – a collection of more than 50 birthday letters, including a lewd message from Trump – and thousands of emails between Epstein, Maxwell and others that the Oversight Committee released last week. Nakhodka more than 20,000 letters included allegations that Trump knew about Epstein's activities with underage girls. In 2011, Epstein wrote that Trump spent “hours” in his home with one of his victims, said he was the man who could “overpower” Trump, and described Trump as “the dog that didn't bark.”
On Sunday, Garcia appeared on MS NOW and confirmed that the Oversight Committee will continue to seek additional material from the Epstein estate and other sources.
“What we received pales in comparison to the documents that actually exist at the Department of Justice,” he said. “Just stay tuned because there will be a lot more information coming out, more documents that we will receive, and we will continue to demand that they do the right thing and give us this release from the Department of Justice.”
What did Trump say?
On Sunday, Trump again accused Democrats of promoting the “Epstein hoax” as a way to “deflect from all their bad policies and losses.”
“Epstein was a Democrat and he is a Democrat's problem, not a Republican's problem! Ask Bill Clinton, Reed Hoffman and Larry Summers about Epstein, they know everything about him, don't waste your time on Trump,” he wrote.
A few hours later, Trump changed his position on the vote: writing to Truth Social that “Republicans must vote to release the Epstein files because we have nothing to hide and it's time to move on from this Democratic hoax.”
The 180 came after Trump's efforts to block a motion to dismiss, a mechanism by which House members can force a vote on files over leadership objections, failed. Last week the White House reportedly caused Rep. Lauren Boebert (D-Colo.) came to the situation center and tried to convince her to remove her name from the petition. A similar unsuccessful attempt was made to persuade Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) to withdraw her support.
Now that Trump says he supports the petition, it's worth remembering that—just as he can order the Justice Department to investigate his political rivals—he can order Bondi to release the files without congressional intervention.
What happens if the House votes to release Epstein's files?
Like any other bill, it will go to the Senate, where – if leadership decides to bring it to a vote – it will only need a simple majority to pass. It will then go to Trump's desk. The President has already made it clear that he will sign the bill if it is adopted. “I’m all for it,” he said. said as part of his response to a question Monday about whether he would sign the bill.
