Reuters
National Director of World Without Exploitation Lauren Hersh embraces Jeffrey Epstein survivor Liz Stein as they react to the Senate's passing of the bill. [Photo Credit: Reuters]
The White House was quietly lobbying senators to slow-walk a vote to force the release of investigative files on Jeffrey Epstein even as President Donald Trump publicly insisted his administration had nothing to hide and urged Congress to act, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
The effort unravelled on Tuesday when senators approved the measure passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives without the changes Trump aides had pressed for, exposing the limits of the president’s sway over his party on an issue that has bedevilled him since he returned to power this year.
The measure is now expected to land on Trump’s desk as soon as Wednesday, and he has indicated he plans to sign it.
His signature would cap an extraordinary week that began with Trump reversing course Sunday night to urge House passage of a bill his administration had been trying to stall or head off for months.
The measure compels the release of U.S. Justice Department files on Epstein, the late convicted sex offender and New York financier who fraternized with some of the most influential men in the country.
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