The Senate on Tuesday passed without delay to legislation that will force the release of case documents associated with the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, following a near-unanimous vote in the US House of Representatives and a shift by the president and his Republican allies. The White House gave in after an extended period of trying to forestall the cross-party initiative involving a case that has dogged the president since his comeback to the White House.
Unanimous Passage in Both Chambers
Senators proceeded by unanimous consent, which needs acceptance from each senator but avoids a individual voting process, accelerating the process. Hours earlier, the House passed by a huge margin the bill on a near-unanimous vote.
Citizens have waited long enough. The survivors have suffered long enough,” the top Senate Democrat said in a address to the chamber on Tuesday, before asking the Senate to adopt it by consent. “Let the truth come out. Allow openness to prevail.”
Future Action
The measure next will be sent to Donald Trump for his approval. Trump signaled on Monday that he would endorse the legislation.
Though Trump has for an extended period rejected the outcry over the government’s handling of the investigation as a “Democrat hoax”, he expressed his backing for the measure over the past few days, and said he would sign the measure if it comes to him.
Reaction
Democrats, along with victims and their representatives who were seated in a House gallery, broke into applause after the bill was enacted. Lone dissent came from a GOP representative, who expressed concern he feared the measure would reveal specific data of individuals involved, persons of interest and others implicated in the investigation.
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