House Republican leaders are aiming to hold a vote Tuesday on legislation to force the full release of the Justice Department’s files on Jeffrey Epstein, sources familiar with the vote tell CBS.
All Democrats and four Republican House members last week successfully brought a petition to the floor to force a vote to release the full Justice Department files on Epstein, circumventing GOP leaders. House Speaker Mike Johnson said the vote will happen this upcoming week.
The bill, titled the Epstein Files Transparency Act, was first introduced in July by Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky as pressure intensified on the Trump administration to release more Epstein-related files.
The bipartisan legislation calls for the release of documents relating to all investigations into Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking in 2021. The bill would compel the release of flight logs, travel records, names of individuals and entities referenced in any Epstein case and internal Justice Department communications within 30 days of the legislation’s passage. It would also make public any records “concerning the destruction, deletion, alteration, misplacement, or concealment of documents, recordings, or electronic data” related to Epstein and his associates, as well as documentation about his death.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 at a Manhattan correctional facility while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
“I believe we’re going to get 40, 50 Republicans voting with us on the release,” Khanna told reporters Wednesday. “And if we get that kind of overwhelming vote, that’s going to push the Senate, and it’s going to push for a release of the files from the Justice Department.”
It’s unclear if the Senate would take it up if it clears the House.
Last week, the House Oversight Committee released more than 20,000 pages of documents from Epstein’s estate. They included emails exchanged between Epstein and others about President Trump, who on Friday called on the Justice Department and the FBI to investigate Epstein’s involvement with prominent Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, and major financial institutions.
Mr. Trump has previously said he cut ties with Epstein years ago, and he has not been accused of wrongdoing.
When asked about the potential vote on Saturday, Mr. Trump said, “I don’t care about it released or not.”
“What I think you should do if you’re going to do it, then you have to go into Epstein’s friends,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One.
