The Senate on this Tuesday gave swift approval to a bill that will mandate the disclosure of case documents concerning the deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, after a near-unanimous vote in the lower house and a shift by the president and his GOP allies. The White House changed course after an extended period of trying to delay the joint action involving a controversy that has followed the president since his return to the White House.
Swift Approval in Congress
The Senate acted by consensus, which needs acceptance from each senator but avoids a individual voting process, accelerating the process. Earlier that day, the House passed by a huge margin the bill on a near-unanimous vote.
“The American people have been patient long enough. Jeffrey Epstein’s victims have waited long enough,” the Senate Democratic leader stated in a Senate remarks on Tuesday, before urging the chamber to pass it unanimously. “Uncover the facts. Allow openness to prevail.”
Presidential Signature
The measure next goes to the president for his endorsement. The president indicated on the previous day that he would sign the measure.
Even though the president has for an extended period downplayed the uproar over the government’s handling of the investigation as a “false narrative”, he voiced approval for the House bill over the weekend, and stated he would approve it if it comes to him.
Reaction
Opposition lawmakers, along with victims and their supporters who were seated in a House gallery, applauded after the bill was approved. Lone dissent came from a GOP representative, who said he feared the measure would reveal identifying details of witnesses, persons of interest and others implicated in the investigation.
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