The House voted overwhelmingly to force the release all of the files held on the paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
Only one representative Clay Higgins, from Louisiana, a fervent Donald Trump supporter, voted against the bill.
He posted on X, the bill ‘abandons 250 years of criminal justice procedure in America.’
‘If enacted in its current form, this type of broad reveal of criminal investigative files, released to a rabid media, will absolutely result in innocent people being hurt,’ he wrote.
It remains to be seen how redacted the files will be or what names will be published.
The bill will go on to a Senate vote before it lands on Trump’s desk- which he has already promised to sign.
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What is in the Epstein files?
The Epstein files refer to all of the evidence gathered by investigators working on the criminal cases against Epstein and his associates.
Many of those court documents – including flight logs for Epstein’s private jet – have already been made public, but many more remain sealed, raising speculation over who else could be implicated.
When Trump returned to the White House, he released some of Epstein’s files and promised more would follow, saying he had ‘no problem’ making the documents public.
The FBI said it was reviewing ‘tens of thousands’ of documents relating to Epstein, and these are being redacted to protect the identity of victims and any other ongoing investigations.
Is Trump in the Epstein files?
The short answer – yes. He’s mentioned throughout emails, and is reportedly in Epstein’s ‘black book’ of contacts.
But the President has always emphatically denied any involvement in or knowledge of Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation.
It’s also been confirmed that the two businessmen flew between New York and Palm Beach together regularly, partying at Mar-a-Lago Club and eating together at Epstein’s mansion in Manhattan.
Speaking to New York Magazine in 2002, Trump said: ‘I’ve known Jeff for 15 years, terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with.’
Trump insisted he had never been on Epstein’s plane or private island, but flight logs released during a past trial suggested the US president flew on Epstein’s private jet seven times.
This is a breaking news story… More to follow…