WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last Tuesday, a vote of 427-1 in Congress took place to compel the Department of Justice to release the files related to Jeffrey Epstein.
The vote came on the heels of the release of more than 65,000 pages of documentation relating to the late child sex offender, who died in 2019 in a New York jail cell. Of those documents, more than 20,000 of them were from the Epstein estate, which were all released and made public by the Republicans on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Rep. Brian Babin of Texas 36th Congressional District released a statement after voting to release the records.
“Jeffrey Epstein was patient zero for Trump Derangement Syndrome. Democrats had these files for four years and did nothing; now, suddenly, they’re crying for transparency?,” Babin said.
The near-unanimous vote in Congress came after months of efforts by the Trump administration to quash the Epstein issue.
President Donal Trump shifted views on the Epstein files matter, and encouraged the vote to release the files. He signed the legislation on Wednesday, which gives a 30-day window for the DOJ to release the records.
In the years since Epstein’s death, which was ruled self-inflicted, conspiracy theories have flourished, including a rumored client list of prominent celebrities and politicians linked to the disgraced financier. Many figures on the political right have spoken about Epstein’s crimes and have advocated for justice for the survivors.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), said that the fight to release the files “has ripped MAGA apart” and has pushed for the release of the files for months.
Babin said he voted to release everything because of a belief in “full transparency for the American people,” however, he said much of the controversy around the Epstein files as of late is “clearly just a political sideshow.”
Babin referred to a colleague, Stacey Plaskett, a Democrat who represents the Virgin Islands, who was caught texting Epstein in the middle of a congressional hearing in 2019, as an example of an issue the political left has been silent on, while Republicans “call for real accountability, Democrats obsess over distractions.”
A vote to censure Plaskett after the revelation of the text messages became known failed 209-2014.
