The upper chamber of Congress on Tuesday passed without delay to legislation that will force the release of case documents concerning the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, after a near-unanimous vote in the lower house and a shift by the president and his GOP allies. Trump's team relented after months of trying to forestall the cross-party initiative involving a case that has followed the president since his comeback to the White House.
Unanimous Passage in Both Chambers
Senators proceeded by general agreement, which needs acceptance from each senator but avoids a formal roll call vote, accelerating the process. Hours earlier, the House passed by a huge margin the bill on a massive majority.
“The American people have endured sufficient delay. Jeffrey Epstein’s victims have waited long enough,” Chuck Schumer stated in a address to the chamber on Tuesday, before requesting the Senate to adopt it by consent. “Reveal the truth. Let transparency reign.”
Future Action
The measure next will be sent to Donald Trump for his endorsement. He stated on Monday that he would endorse the legislation.
Though the president has for months downplayed the uproar over the authorities' approach of the Epstein case as a “false narrative”, he expressed his backing for the measure over the past few days, and announced he would approve it if it is presented to him.
Support and Opposition
The Democratic party, along with those affected and their supporters who were present in a public section, broke into applause after the bill was passed. The sole “no” vote came from a Louisiana Republican, who said he was concerned the measure would make public identifying details of individuals involved, persons of interest and others involved in the investigation.
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