“No More Secrets”: Congress Overwhelmingly Votes 427-1 to Force Full, Unredacted Release of All Epstein Files
WASHINGTON D.C. – In a seismic shift that has sent shockwaves through the political establishment, Congress has delivered a resounding and historic rebuke to decades of secrecy. By a staggering vote of 427 to 1, the House of Representatives has passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, effectively ordering the immediate and complete public disclosure of every document, flight log, communication, and investigation related to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein .
The bill, which was quickly passed by the Senate and signed into law, mandates that the Attorney General release all unclassified records within a strict 15-day window . The scope of the disclosure is total, covering everything from flight manifests and black book contacts to internal Justice Department communications and documents concerning Epstein’s controversial 2019 death in federal custody .
In a move designed to prevent a cover-up, the law explicitly prohibits the government from withholding or redacting any information based on “embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity” for any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary . The only exceptions are narrowly tailored to protect victims’ personally identifiable information, national security, and ongoing investigations .
The sole dissenting vote came from Republican Representative Clay Higgins of Louisiana, making the vote a rare, near-unanimous act of bipartisanship . The bill’s passage marks a dramatic reversal for the White House. According to multiple reports, President Donald Trump opposed the measure for months, reportedly pressuring allies to block it and even calling the push a “Democrat Hoax” . A senior White House official confirmed the administration was blindsided by the speed of the legislative action, believing the Senate would take much longer to move the bill forward .
Trump abruptly reversed course just before the vote, stating, “we have nothing to hide,” and signed the bill into law the day after passage . However, the political fallout is far from over. The Justice Department has since released over 3 million pages of documents, though critics argue the initial batches were heavily redacted . In response to these accusations, the DOJ has agreed to let members of Congress personally view unredacted versions of the files in a secure reading room at the department, beginning February 9th . Lawmakers are permitted to take notes but cannot bring in electronic devices .
Republican Representative Thomas Massie, who co-led the bipartisan push for transparency, declared, “We will know this bill has been successful when rich men are in handcuffs” . As the nation awaits the full, unredacted release, the law stands as a landmark victory for transparency, promising to expose the hidden networks and potential high-level complicity that have fueled public outrage for years.
