US lawmakers set for explosive vote on Epstein files

AFP | Washington

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US lawmakers are expected to vote Tuesday for the release of government records on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in defiance of President Donald Trump’s attempts to keep a lid on one of the country’s most notorious scandals. After months of resistance, behind-the-scenes pressure and frenzied lobbying against making the material public, Trump threw in the towel on Sunday as it became clear that much of the Republican Party in Congress was poised to defy him.

The House of Representatives now looks all but certain to approve -- perhaps even unanimously -- the Epstein Files Transparency Act compelling publication of unclassified documents detailing the investigation into the disgraced financier’s operations and 2019 death in custody, ruled a suicide.

Lawmakers say the public deserves answers in a case with over 1,000 alleged victims.

Trump says the files will expose powerful Democrats’ connections to Epstein, but the Republican president himself faces uncomfortable scrutiny over his years-long friendship with the man alleged to have supplied rich and influential men with underaged women.

Killing the bill in the Senate after a lopsided House vote would be awkward to defend, and Trump has pledged not to veto the legislation if it reaches his desk.

But expectations of damning new revelations could prove premature.

The Justice Department has wide latitude hold back any information if release “would jeopardize an active federal investigation” and Trump ordered officials in a widely criticized intervention last week to probe Epstein’s ties with high-profile Democrats.

The saga has exposed rare fissures in support for the Republican leader, who campaigned on releasing the files but changed course after taking office, accusing Democrats of pushing a “hoax.”

After multiple attempts by Republican leaders to block the vote, all Democrats and four Republicans signed a “discharge petition” -- an extraordinary procedure forcing the bill to the House floor.