Senate Republicans defeat Democrats’ effort to force the release of Epstein files

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press WASHINGTON AP In a close vote Senate Republicans defeated an effort Wednesday by Democrats to insert language into Congress annual defense authorization bill that would have forced the community release of occurrence files on the sex trafficking probe into the late Jeffrey Epstein Related Articles Reagan Foundation cancels Ben Shapiro speaking event after fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk Trump s plan for a drug advertising crackdown faces a multitude of hurdles Trump administration cuts grants for minority-serving colleges declaring them unconstitutional Politicians who have experienced violence react to Charlie Kirk shooting Boston s police accountability office tracking questionable ICE tactics Mayor Michelle Wu The Senate voted - to dismiss the changes to the bill with Republican Sens Josh Hawley of Missouri and Rand Paul of Kentucky joining with all Democrats in opposition For months Democrats have clamored for the release of what s become known as the Epstein files looking for practically every opportunity to force Republicans to either join their push for disclosure or publicly oppose a cause that multiple in the Republican base advocacy President Donald Trump signaled as he was running for president that he was open to releasing a full accounting of the situation but is now trying to dismiss the push as a Democrat hoax So far Democrats have been productive in forcing Republican leadership to grapple with the issue yet it was unclear whether they would literally be able to crack Trump s hold on congressional Republicans to force bill through Congress I ask my Republican colleagues after all those years you spent calling for accountability for transparency for getting to the bottom of these awful crimes why won t you vote yes Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer mentioned in a floor speech Wednesday The New York Democrat maneuvered earlier Wednesday to force a procedural vote on language that would force the Justice Department to release the Epstein files inserting it into an annual defense protocol bill that Congress has to pass Senate Republican leadership was then forced to hold a vote to dispense with Schumer s amendment arguing that he was inserting political gamesmanship into defense regulation that often enjoys bipartisan encouragement This is not the right way to do it mentioned Sen Mike Rounds a South Dakota Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune explained earlier this week that the Justice Department has already disclosed tons of files on Epstein I trust them in terms of having the confidence that they ll get as much information out there as doable in a way that protects the rights of the casualties added Thune R-S D Still a great number of in the Republican base as well as several casualties of Epstein s abuse have been unsatisfied with what the Justice Department has so far issued The calls for disclosure of Epstein s episode has at moments consumed Congress looming over politics even more than when Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial in on charges that stated he sexually abused and trafficked dozens of underage girls The episode was brought more than a decade after he secretly cut a deal with federal prosecutors in Florida to dispose of nearly identical assertions Epstein was accused of paying underage girls hundreds of dollars in cash for massages and then molesting them Sought by reporters Wednesday why Democrats had not pushed for disclosure when they controlled the White House Schumer responded It s become so apparent that they re lying about it in every different way and the demands of the American people are so great The need is greater than ever now he added Meanwhile a separate effort to force a vote on a similar bill in the House inched ahead Democrats picked up one more House seat when Rep James Walkinshaw D-Va was sworn into office after winning a special electoral contest this week It gives them one more supporter for a procedure called a discharge petition to maneuver around Republican leadership s control of the House floor and hold a vote on rule to force the Justice Department to release the Epstein files Four Republicans have also signed onto the discharge petition meaning that it is just one name short of having the encouragement needed to potentially force a vote That could come as soon as the end of this month when a heavily blue congressional district in Arizona holds a special poll to fill a vacant seat