Connecticut lawmakers react as US House, Senate pass bill to release Epstein files
Connecticut lawmakers in the U.S. House and Senate helped pass a bill Tuesday for the Justice Department to release unclassified files relating to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
The House passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in a vote of 427-1. The Senate then passed the bill unanimously just hours later, sending it to President Donald Trump's desk.
The bill forces a release within 30 days of all files and communications involving Epstein, a disgraced financier who killed himself in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on allegations he sexually abused and trafficked underage girls. It also includes any information about the investigation into his death in federal prison.
It would allow the Justice Department to redact information about Epstein’s victims or continuing federal investigations, but not information due to “embarrassment, reputational harm or political sensitivity.”
U.S. House representatives from Connecticut said that they voted in favor of the bill to ensure transparency and accountability. Below are their statements:
Rep. John Larson (CT-01):
“Today, the House FINALLY voted to release the Epstein Files, capping off a months-long campaign by Speaker Johnson and President Trump to block their release – even delaying the swearing-in of a duly elected Member of Congress to prevent a vote," Larson said. “Here’s what I know – the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse network deserve justice. Today’s resounding vote was an important step toward their government delivering exactly that. Even when pressured by the rich and powerful, including the President of the United States himself, our democracy can hold strong when everyday people speak up. We still don’t know what the White House and Trump allies are trying to hide in these files, but as Robert Graves wrote in I, Claudius, ‘Let all the poison that lurks in the mud, hatch out.’ I will always stand up for survivors of sexual abuse and our democratic principles of equal protection for all under the law.”
Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02):
“The American people deserve full transparency on the Department of Justice’s investigation of the heinous crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein – including details of the complicity of Epstein’s accomplices. The Epstein Files Transparency Act requires by law the full release of the unredacted Epstein files in a manner that protects survivors,” Courtney said. “Passage of this bipartisan bill overcame months of stonewalling by President Trump and Speaker Johnson. It took execution of a discharge petition to force a vote – I was the fourth member of the House to sign on to the petition which eventually reached the required 218 members of the House.”
“The President now says, ‘we have nothing to hide’ in the Epstein files. If that’s true, he could direct Attorney General Bondi to release the files immediately. His continued refusal to do so speaks volumes about his true intent,” Courtney continued. “The Senate must follow the lead of the bipartisan majority in the House and swiftly pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act.”
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT-03):
“Today, I voted for justice for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, accountability for everyone who participated in these despicable and heinous crimes, and transparency for the American people.
“Anyone connected to Epstein’s crimes—Republican or Democrat, billionaire or celebrity—must be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Congress and the American people must not let this investigation be undermined by partisan agendas—we must continue to demand transparency at every stage.
“Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse have waited years for the justice they deserve. Our country owes them nothing less than a full disclosure of the contents of these files, no matter who or what is implicated. There can be no more half measures; it is time for truth.”
Rep. Jahana Hayes (CT-05):
Even before the bill’s passage Tuesday, thousands of pages of emails and other documents from Epstein’s estate have been released from an investigation by the House Oversight Committee.
Those documents show Epstein’s connections to global leaders, Wall Street powerbrokers, influential political figures and Trump himself. In the United Kingdom, King Charles III stripped his disgraced brother Prince Andrew of his remaining titles and evicted him from his royal residence after pressure to act over his relationship with Epstein.
Trump called on House Republicans Sunday to vote to pass the bill while calling the matter a "hoax." It came after he previously opposed the proposal.
“We have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
In response to the calls for transparency, the White House in turn demanded that the Democrats show the same transparency in regard to Epstein.