A MART脥NEZ, HOST:
The House of Representatives is expected to vote today to release documents related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The House vote alone would not do the job, but it would be a victory for people who want to see the Justice Department files on Epstein. He was believed to have abused many minors before his death in 2019. The Justice Department said earlier this year there was nothing worth releasing. People who doubt this include Annie Farmer, one of Epstein's accusers, who spoke yesterday on NPR's MORNING EDITION.
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ANNIE FARMER: There's a piece about accountability, wanting people that not just participated in these crimes, but also that allowed them, that funded them, that looked the other way. I think there's a reckoning for all of that that needs to happen. And so this idea that, no, there's nothing more to see here, we don't buy it.
MART脥NEZ: NPR congressional correspondent Barbara Sprunt is with us. Barbara, so how does this congressional action work?
BARBARA SPRUNT, BYLINE: Well, it would compel the Justice Department to release all unclassified files. So that's records, documents, communications, all investigation materials, essentially, within 30 days, and that includes documents related to Epstein's death. As a reminder, the administration has already released thousands of files to the House Oversight Committee, documents that also include names of other people connected to Epstein, but there are still more files that haven't been made public. And there's renewed interest in this. Democrats on the panel recently released emails where Epstein told a journalist that President Trump, quote, "knew about the girls," unquote, seemingly referring to the people Epstein was allegedly trafficking. The president has previously said he had a falling out with Epstein many years ago, and he has not been tied to any wrongdoing.
MART脥NEZ: All right. So say this passes the House, the files still would have a few steps to go before they're made public.
SPRUNT: That's right. And there are a few question marks here. What is the scope of what's in these files? We know that the measure gives some latitude to the Justice Department to withhold or redact portions of them, including documents that could jeopardize active investigations. So could that lead to delays? President Trump has already called for an investigation into Epstein's alleged ties to prominent Democrats, for example. And another big question mark is the Senate. Will leadership bring this for a vote in that chamber? I think if there's a lot of support from Republicans in the House, it ups the chances of this moving in the Senate.
MART脥NEZ: So after the House, after the Senate, then it goes to President Trump's desk.
SPRUNT: That's right. And he has said that he would sign it if it comes to his desk. But an interesting element in this - he already has the authority to direct the Justice Department to release documents. He did that in other cases with documents related to the investigations of the assassinations of the Kennedys and Martin Luther King Jr., for example. But that's not what's happening here. Instead, the House is forcing a vote that would compel the administration to release the documents. Big difference.
MART脥NEZ: Wondering, Barbara, what you make of that reversal from President Trump on whether Republicans should back the measure or not.
SPRUNT: Yeah. That was a major U-turn. I think it speaks to how important this issue is to the base. I think it's notable that there was a pressure campaign from the White House to convince key Republicans, including some of his most vocal supporters, no less, not to sign the petition to force a vote on this. That didn't work, and to me, it shows that this is an area where the president doesn't have a firm grip on the House. I think the writing was on the wall that a lot of Republican House members were prepared to vote yes for this, with or without the White House's blessing. So the president's about-face could be a way of giving in to, you know, giving the go-ahead to something that was already coming.
MART脥NEZ: That's NPR's Barbara Sprunt. Thanks a lot.
SPRUNT: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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