The United States House of Representatives approved this Tuesday, with (almost) absolute support, a resolution that forces the Department of Justice to publish all unclassified documents related to the case of Jeffrey Epsteinthe millionaire convicted of pedophilia.
The support was, as you can see, overwhelming. 427 congressmen voted in favor. Only one against: the Republican Clay Higginsfrom Louisiana. And it says a lot about the new reality of Donald Trump.
For months, the president of the United States had tried to sabotage any progress in the disclosure of the files, concerned about the possible appearance of information that links him to more shady matters. His change of heart came after a series of closed-door conversations with Republican lawmakers who warned him that disclosure was inevitable due to pressure from his base.
What’s more: three conservative congresswomen managed to gather the necessary signatures to force the vote.
More than one analyst interprets this outcome as evidence of Trump’s loss of control over his own party. For months he has managed to impose his decisions without buts. This time, however, he has been caught between parliamentary discipline and the fear of many representatives of being seen as complicit in a possible cover-up.
The Epstein case has been generating internal tensions for months, all of them amplified by the same conspiracy theories that the president himself fueled in the past.
Some Republicans who initially rejected the publication of the documents rectified with the president. It is the case of Lance Gooden y Troy Nehls. Both announced their support for the resolution before the vote. Others, like Thomas Massiestandard-bearer of the movement within the conservative group, already announced that they expected almost unanimous approval.
Before the session, a group of survivors of the abuses attributed to Epstein participated in an event in front of the Capitol to demand transparency. Several of them, showing photos of their adolescence, followed the voting from the guest gallery and applauded after the final result.
The resolution establishes that the Department of Justice will have to preserve the identity of the victims. What remains unclear is whether the documents will be released immediately or if the Government will try to drag out the process.
Trump, it should be remembered, maintains that he has no connection with Epstein’s crimes. He calls the issue an “invention of the Democrats.” He claims that he distanced himself from the magnate years ago and that he even expelled him from one of his private clubs. The main enemy of his credibility is the publication in several North American media of emails that suggest that the president was aware of what Epstein was doing.
The approved text now goes to the Senate, with a Republican majority. What remains to be unraveled is whether the publication of the files will shed light on a pedophile ring that operated with impunity for decades.