Skeleton in the president's closet: The US Congress voted to publish the "Epstein files"

The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have approved a bill obliging the Department of Justice to disclose data on the Jeffrey Epstein case. For a long time, Donald Trump, despite his election promises, refused to publish documents, but recently suddenly changed his mind on this matter. What is known about the Congressional vote, how the struggle between the American leader and the Democrats is developing in this regard, and how it may end for the Republicans, is in the Izvestia article.

The US Congress has passed a bill on the publication of the "Epstein files": what is known

The US Congress voted to adopt a resolution that would oblige the Justice Department to publish documents related to the investigation of Jeffrey Epstein. The release of the files was supported by 427 members of the House of Representatives, one opposed (Republican Clay Higgins) and five abstained. The senators approved the bill unanimously, without even discussing the text. Now it's up to Donald Trump to sign or reject it.

Photo: REUTERS/Mike Segar

The document prescribes the release of all files and records related to Epstein in one way or another: the results of investigations, reports, internal communications of the Ministry of Justice. Despite the fact that Trump initially opposed the disclosure of data on the case, he has now taken the opposite position. "I just don't want Republicans to be distracted from all our victories," the 47th President of the United States wrote on his Truth Social network on the evening of November 18. He also accused members of the Democratic Party of "hoaxing" and using the "Epstein files" to distract attention from the successes of the Trumpists.

"Republicans in the House of Representatives should vote for the release of Epstein's files, because we have nothing to hide, and it's time to move on," Donald Trump wrote on November 16 on Truth Social, after the vote was scheduled in the House of Representatives.

Republicans in the Senate ignored calls from fellow Party speaker Michael Johnson to give the Justice Department more leeway in making the "Epstein files" public. Johnson had previously refused to participate in the vote, but later decided to speak out in favor of the publication, noting that he hoped for "reasonable amendments" to be introduced into the resolution by the US Senate. According to him, this is necessary "to protect the victims" of the financier.

Another representative of the Republican Party, Marjorie Taylor Green, until recently one of the most devoted supporters of the MAGA coalition and Trump, who has long advocated for the disclosure of the Epstein files, criticized the US president for resisting the release of materials on the case. "Watching this escalate into a fight is tearing MAGA apart. <...> I'll tell you straight out: This was one of the most devastating events for MAGA," Green said at a press conference on the steps of the Capitol surrounded by victims of the sex offender.

Sculptures of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein

Photo: Global Look Press/IMAGO/Gent Shkullaku

Congressman Clay Higgins from Louisiana is the only representative in the House who voted against the bill. He believes that this may harm the reputation of the witnesses and other persons mentioned in the investigation materials.

According to an October Reuters poll conducted jointly with Ipsos, only four out of ten Republicans approved of Trump's actions regarding the Epstein case. Independent voters voted "against" almost six times more than "for", Bloomberg cites data. The agency also notes that the US president could have ordered the disclosure of documents without Congressional approval.

On November 14, Donald Trump instructed the Department of Justice to investigate the alleged links of prominent Democrats such as 42nd US President Bill Clinton, former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and Linkedin founder Reed Hoffman with a criminal. According to the current American leader, some "records show" that these people spent "significant periods of their lives" with Epstein and on "his island."

Thirst for secrets

In early November, Democratic congressmen from the oversight committee in the US House of Representatives published, as they claim, three emails from the financier. From these documents obtained from Jeffrey Epstein's heirs, it follows that Donald Trump could well have been aware of the criminal activities of the deceased.

A member of the U.S. House of Representatives holds a photo of Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump

Photo: Global Look Press/Rod Lamkey/Keystone Press Agency

The White House called the disclosed data unproven, and the current US president even stated that the Democrats were "using the myth of Epstein," which, in fact, concerned themselves, to distract public attention from "their catastrophic shutdown and all the other failures."

Later, on November 13, during the signing of the government's budget, Donald Trump ignored journalists' questions about the release of secret files. "I don't know if you have any questions... I think we have a great situation. The country we love is in great shape," the American leader said, concluding the ceremony. As soon as Trump finished his speech, the reporters asked about the financier. The president immediately asked the press to leave, stressing that the United States was having a "great day" in connection with the resumption of government work after 43 days of the shutdown.

Malek Dudakov, an American political scientist, shared with Izvestia the opinion that there may be some technical difficulties with publishing the files, since the amount of data is large and many of them are confidential. Moreover, according to the expert, Trump is most likely afraid for the disclosure of documents, since something more serious than rumors about spending time at the financier's "estate" may well lead to impeachment.

— So far, these are all unfounded claims that Trump allegedly actually spent time with the girls at Jeffrey Epstein's estate. But if, for example, photos, videos or some other evidence of Trump's participation in the financier's parties appears, it can really bury his presidential career - the risks are high for Trump here, the expert is sure.

Photo: TASS/Zuma

Vladimir Vasiliev, chief researcher at the Institute of the USA and Canada, also believes that the scandal with the Epstein files may become the most serious in the history of the American presidency. The expert believes that it may well surpass Watergate in importance, which ended with the resignation of former President Richard Nixon.

— Potentially, this is the kind of scandal that could lead either to Trump's impeachment or even to his early resignation. In principle, Trump "almost got caught" in the fact that he may have had connections with these underage girls, but the whole situation is that it may still have to be legally proven, the expert says.

Now, according to Vladimir Vasiliev, Donald Trump has two ways in which he can deflect suspicion from himself: pressure on the Democrats and an international crisis.

— Trump has some forms of protection and counteraction, and he has already started this game. Firstly, he has already received an investigation by the Justice Department into Epstein's connection with Clinton, Summers and some other people in New York. The point is simple: to create a balance of fear. The second situation is more serious. It is related to the fact that Trump may involve the country in some kind of another serious international crisis like the Venezuelan one. Thus, he hopes to postpone the investigation," the expert explains.

The results of the "case"

The approval rating of the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump, fell to 38%, the lowest level since his second inauguration. Such data was presented in a joint survey conducted by Ipsos and the Reuters news agency. This is not the lowest assessment of Trump's policy — in his first term, his rating dropped to 33%.

Photo: REUTERS/Tom Brenner

Vladimir Vasiliev also noted that the US Congress always follows public opinion. Since the citizens of the state wanted to find out the truth about the "Epstein case," their opinion was heard in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

— An unprecedented event took place in Congress today, which, from my point of view, will be promoted. The American people want to get to the bottom of the truth, and in this regard, the situation for Trump is not the most brilliant. The congress always expresses the mood of the people: there are Republicans and Democrats here who would like to warm their hands on this, as they say," the expert concluded.