The U.S. Congress is bracing for a high-stakes vote next week that could force the release of thousands of files tied to the late Jeffrey Epstein’s notorious sex trafficking investigation—a move that’s reignited controversy, political finger-pointing, and public intrigue on both sides of the Atlantic. The push comes after months of stonewalling, a dramatic petition drive, and a fresh batch of explosive documents that have drawn renewed attention to powerful figures once linked to Epstein’s shadowy world.
On November 14, 2025, the House of Representatives reached a pivotal moment. A petition led by Representatives Ro Khanna of California and Thomas Massie of Kentucky hit the magic number: 218 signatures, the threshold needed to force a floor vote on the so-called Epstein Files Transparency Act. The bipartisan effort, which had languished amid Republican leadership’s resistance, was propelled across the finish line when newly sworn-in Democrat Adelita Grijalva of Arizona added her name just minutes after taking office, according to CBC News.
The bill, if passed, would require the Justice Department to release all files and communications related to Epstein, including those concerning the investigation into his 2019 death in a New York federal jail. Crucially, while the legislation allows redactions to protect victims and ongoing investigations, it explicitly forbids withholding information to spare embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity—no matter how high-profile the individual involved.
This vote is arriving at a moment when fresh revelations have injected new urgency into the debate. Earlier this week, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released a tranche of Epstein documents, including emails and communications in which the name of former President Donald Trump appears repeatedly. According to CNN and AFP reports, one 2011 email from Epstein to Ghislaine Maxwell referenced Trump “spending hours” at Epstein’s house with a woman identified as one of Epstein’s sex trafficking victims. In another exchange, Epstein bluntly wrote that Trump “knew about the girls.” The context, as noted by several outlets, remains murky, but the implications have fueled speculation and partisan recriminations.
Republican leaders, meanwhile, have accused Democrats of selectively leaking documents to smear Trump. In response, House Republicans countered by releasing additional files, alleging that their counterparts were “cherry-picking” evidence to “create a fake narrative to slander President Trump.” The White House, for its part, has dismissed the renewed focus on Epstein as an orchestrated distraction. “The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they’ll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform. “Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap.”
Despite Trump’s efforts to distance himself from Epstein—insisting he severed ties two decades ago and was unaware of Epstein’s crimes—some documents tell a more complicated story. In a January 2019 email exchange, Epstein disputed Trump’s claim that he had been expelled from Mar-a-Lago, stating instead that “of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.” Yet Ghislaine Maxwell, now serving a 20-year sentence for her role in Epstein’s trafficking network, told Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche earlier this year, “I never witnessed the President in any inappropriate setting in any way… The President was never inappropriate with anybody. In the times that I was with him, he was a gentleman in all respects.”
The swirl of revelations has not just rattled the political class in Washington. Across the Atlantic, one of the most significant disclosures from the 20,000-plus documents released by Congress is making headlines. Among the files is the now-infamous photograph of Ghislaine Maxwell, then-Prince Andrew, and Virginia Giuffre, the late Epstein survivor who died by suicide earlier this year. In her posthumous memoir, “Nobody’s Girl,” Giuffre described meeting Andrew at Maxwell’s London home at age 17, just months after being recruited from Mar-a-Lago. She recounted how Maxwell instructed her to “do for him what you do for Jeffrey,” alleging that she was forced to have sex with Andrew that night and on two subsequent occasions. Both Maxwell and Andrew have denied the allegations and claimed the photograph is a fake.
However, the newly released documents include a July 2011 email in which Epstein reportedly wrote, “Yes she was on my plane, and yes she had her picture taken with Andrew.” While Epstein denied the other details of Giuffre’s story, his acknowledgment that the photograph was real throws fresh doubt on the denials by Andrew and Maxwell. As Jen Psaki noted on her MSNBC program, “The idea that Epstein, way back in 2011, said this photo was real throws into question everything both Andrew and Maxwell have said about the rest of that story.”
Back in Congress, the political fallout has been swift and dramatic. Trump, who faces reelection and mounting legal troubles, has taken the offensive—most recently withdrawing his endorsement of Republican firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene, citing her criticism of his agenda and her efforts to press for Epstein record releases. Greene, a longtime Trump ally, has found herself at odds with the former president and some fellow Republicans over the issue, underscoring the deep divisions the Epstein saga continues to sow within the GOP.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has promised to expedite the petition process and bring the Epstein Files Transparency Act to a vote early next week. Johnson, however, has pushed back against claims that he’s obstructed the legislation to protect Trump or others, arguing that the Republican majority’s concerns center on protecting victims. “The Republican majority took issue with the phrasing of the measure, which he claimed did not adequately protect victims,” Johnson told reporters on November 13, as reported by CBC News.
If the bill passes the House, it faces a steeper climb in the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53–47 majority and 60 votes would likely be required for final passage. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has expressed skepticism, noting, “The Justice Department has already released tons of files related to this matter. I trust them in terms of having the confidence that they’ll get as much information out there as possible in a way that protects the rights of the victims.” Should the bill clear the Senate, it would land on Trump’s desk—where a veto is all but certain. Overriding such a veto would require a two-thirds majority in both chambers, a feat achieved only twice since 2009.
Meanwhile, the House Oversight Committee continues its own investigation, having issued subpoenas to a who’s who of Epstein’s world: Bill and Hillary Clinton, former FBI director James Comey, and every attorney general since Epstein’s 2006 Florida indictment. Ghislaine Maxwell was also subpoenaed and participated in a voluntary interview, reiterating her denial of any inappropriate conduct by Trump. The committee has even sought to question Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former British prince, though he cannot be subpoenaed. Notably, Virginia Giuffre, whose memoir and testimony have been central to the case, never accused Trump of wrongdoing, either in her memoir or under oath.
With the House set for a historic vote and the Senate’s intentions unclear, the Epstein files saga shows no sign of fading from the headlines. As new documents emerge and political alliances shift, the American public—and the world—are left watching, waiting, and wondering what secrets may finally come to light.
