Here's when the US House will vote on Epstein files release: All details

The proposal, called The Epstein Files Transparency Act, directs the Department of Justice to make public every unclassified document, email and investigative record tied to Jeffrey Epstein

The US House of Representatives is preparing to vote on a bill that would require federal authorities to release all government records connected to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender who died in jail in 2019.

 

The proposal, called The Epstein Files Transparency Act, directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to make public every unclassified document, email, communication and investigative record tied to Epstein.

 

The vote is scheduled for Tuesday, November 18, according to House Speaker Mike Johnson. Although the official schedule has yet to be posted by the House Majority Leader’s office, Johnson confirmed the vote will take place in the afternoon.

 

Trump urges Republicans to support release

 

The decision to move forward came soon after President Donald Trump publicly urged House Republicans to vote in favour of releasing the Epstein files. Trump has faced renewed scrutiny over his alleged association with Epstein, an issue he has dismissed as a “hoax". The pressure intensified after the House Oversight Committee published emails referencing Trump, prompting calls for further transparency.

 

Trump wrote on Truth Social, “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, including our recent Victory on the Democrat 'Shutdown'."

 

A Trump ally, John, pushed back against suggestions that Trump is worried about the files. “He's never had anything to hide,” he said, adding that both he and Trump want to ensure victims remain protected from wrongful disclosure.   

 

How the vote typically proceeds

 

House votes usually begin around 5 pm ET (3:30 am IST), with results expected by 7 pm ET (5:30 am IST). With both Democrats and Republicans signalling support, especially after Trump’s intervention, the vote is expected to move quickly.

 

If the bill passes the House, it must then move through the Senate. After Senate approval, the measure would require Trump’s signature before becoming law.

 

What the Epstein Files Transparency Act proposes

 

The bill requires the DOJ to release:

• all unclassified records

• all communications

• all investigative materials related to Epstein’s prosecution and investigation.

 

Trump demands full disclosure

 

In a shift from past statements, Trump urged House Republicans to vote for the bill, saying on Truth Social that the party has “nothing to hide".

 

He wrote, “House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files… The Department of Justice has already turned over tens of thousands of pages to the Public on ‘Epstein,’ and they are looking at various Democrat operatives (Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman, Larry Summers, etc.) and their relationship to Epstein… I DON’T CARE!”

 

He went on to insist that Republicans stay focused on economic and political priorities, stating, *“All I do care about is that Republicans get BACK ON POINT...”

 

Trump also argued that if Democrats had damaging information, they would have disclosed it before Republicans’ election wins last year. He warned GOP members not to fall into what he called an “Epstein ‘TRAP’.”   

 

The Epstein case

 

Jeffrey Epstein was first accused in 2006, when the parents of a 14-year-old girl told Florida police that he had molested their daughter. Epstein later pleaded guilty to two felony charges in 2008, serving a controversial and widely criticised sentence.

 

Though Trump has denied any wrongdoing, past reports have noted that he and Epstein moved in similar social circles in Florida and New York and attended the same events over the years.

 

(With agency inputs)