US House of Representatives supports publication of Epstein files
Capitol (Illustrative photo: Luke Johnson/EPA)

On November 18, the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted almost unanimously to force the Department of Justice to release files on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. This was reported by Reuters.

Two days after US President Donald Trump's abrupt change of heart , the resolution passed with a 427-0 majority, demanding the disclosure of all unclassified documents about Epstein. One member of the House of Representatives voted against it.

The document has now been sent to the Senate for consideration. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that the resolution could be passed by his chamber with unanimous consent, possibly later on Tuesday.

Prior to the vote, about two dozen women survivors of Epstein's abuse joined a trio of lawmakers from both parties outside the U.S. Capitol to demand the release of the documents.

The women held up photos of themselves as young people, the age they said they first met Epstein, a New York financier who was on friendly terms with some of the country's most powerful people.

After the vote, they stood up to applaud lawmakers from the public gallery of the House of Representatives, some of them crying and hugging.

  • On November 12, Reuters wrote that Democrats said that Trump allegedly knew about the girls Epstein was suspected of raping. But the White House called it an attempted smear.
  • Recently, Trump called a journalist a "pig" in response to a question about Epstein.