Tuesday, November 18, 2025

House Votes to Release Epstein Files

After months of House Republicans ducking a vote to release files tied to the Justice Department's investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, the House almost unanimously approved legislation Tuesday that would force those documents into the open.

Posted by Corky at 04:34 PM | 70 COMMENTS | permalink

More

427 to 1 ... after the GOP spent the last 6 mos threatening people not to vote to release them.

Comments

"Next steps: Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the House-passed bill could be approved by the Senate as soon as today. The president has said he'll sign the bill if Congress passes it, a stark reversal in his position."

Taco Trump, indeed.

#1 | Posted by Corky at 2025-11-18 04:25 PM

No way they aren't scrubbed free of particularly damming Trump references if they are released. Alternative sources will validate that some stuff is missing if that is the case.

#2 | Posted by dibblda at 2025-11-18 04:43 PM

Not even the first battle in the war against Sauron. But nice that we won it.

#3 | Posted by Zed at 2025-11-18 04:45 PM

The president has said he'll sign the bill if Congress passes it, a stark reversal in his position." Taco Trump, indeed.
#1 | Posted by Corky

Which can only mean that they will redact every Repub name and probably add in a few Dem names for kicks (I'm thinking AOC and maybe FDR).

#4 | Posted by censored at 2025-11-18 04:48 PM

Just to be clear this legislation is to force Trump to do something he could do today

#5 | Posted by truthhurts at 2025-11-18 04:51 PM

Just to be clear this legislation is to force Trump to do something he could do today

#5 | POSTED BY TRUTHHURTS

Which is why we know that he never intends to do it.

#6 | Posted by Zed at 2025-11-18 04:59 PM

Which can only mean that they will redact every Repub name and probably add in a few Dem names for kicks (I'm thinking AOC and maybe FDR).
#4 | Posted by censored

Before announcing that he would direct Bondi to investigate Epstein's ties to Bill Clinton, he claimed that Democrats had fabricated a slew of sinister allegations inserted into the files that would frame him and other Republicans. To me, that basically implies his own DOJ and FBI engaged in similar behavior, just with Democratic names swapped in. With Trump, it so often comes back to projection: the very things he accuses others of doing are the things he's actually doing himself.

#7 | Posted by rstybeach11 at 2025-11-18 05:02 PM

Trump will find a way to slime his way out of this one.

#8 | Posted by Alexandrite at 2025-11-18 05:06 PM

Which is why we know that he never intends to do it.
#6 | Posted by Zed

This is why he's commanding Bondi to open an investigation into Bill Clinton and Democrats' ties to Epstein, which would justify Bondi refusing to release the files pending an ongoing investigation.

The irony being that his own FBI Director, Kash Patel, testified to congress that there's no evidence that anyone other than Epstein abused children, meaning there wouldn't be any more prosecutions and that the case was closed. This also harckens back to his first impeachment, when he held Ukraine's funding hostage in order to convince Zelenski to "simply announce the opening of an investigation into Hunter Biden, Joe Biden, and Burisma." No actual investigation was needed, just the announcement, which he seems to be doing here with Epstein and Clinton.

#9 | Posted by rstybeach11 at 2025-11-18 05:06 PM

Trump will find a way to slime his way out of this one.
#8 | Posted by Alexandrite

Quiet, piggy.

#10 | Posted by rstybeach11 at 2025-11-18 05:07 PM

Trump is made of Teflon because his followers are morons.

THEY are the problem, Trump is the symptom.

#11 | Posted by Alexandrite at 2025-11-18 05:10 PM

Don't believe me? Read Bill Johnson's posts.

#12 | Posted by Alexandrite at 2025-11-18 05:15 PM

Republicans must still be working on their talking points, but I'll give you a preview:

"There's zero evidence in these files that Trump did anything wrong."
--Republicans

#13 | Posted by snoofy at 2025-11-18 05:25 PM


PersonX is made of Teflon because his followers are morons.
THEY are the problem, PersonX is the symptom.
~ EveryPartisanMoron

#14 | Posted by oneironaut at 2025-11-18 05:25 PM

Open borders liberal defends trump.

Lying News at 11.

#15 | Posted by Alexandrite at 2025-11-18 05:27 PM

www.cnn.com

House Democrat exchanged texts with Epstein during 2019 congressional hearing.: CNN headline.

Release the emails, all of them.

#16 | Posted by Petrous at 2025-11-18 05:34 PM

There's not going to be anything in there proving Trump did anything wrong. Alot of inuendo. Hell, the actual victims even said so. I don't know why Democrats scream "Believe the victims", but wont believe them when they say Trump was not involved. But ok. But I have a feeling there are going to be some Democrat casualties in there. And that's going to be hilarious.

If Trump is not in those files grabbing a child by the -----, or a video of him doing something, well, you know, That is a big political gamble Democrats will have lost.

#17 | Posted by boaz at 2025-11-18 05:36 PM

There's not going to be anything in there proving Trump did anything wrong. Alot of inuendo. Hell, the actual victims even said so. I don't know why Democrats scream "Believe the victims", but wont believe them when they say Trump was not involved. But ok. But I have a feeling there are going to be some Democrat casualties in there. And that's going to be hilarious.
If Trump is not in those files grabbing a child by the -----, or a video of him doing something, well, you know, That is a big political gamble Democrats will have lost.

Posted by boaz at 2025-11-18 05:36 PM | Reply

Useless trolling.

#18 | Posted by LauraMohr at 2025-11-18 05:39 PM

#17 | POSTED BY BOAZ

The least likely thing to happen here is Donald simply letting those files go.

The cover-up continues, buttercup.

#19 | Posted by Zed at 2025-11-18 05:46 PM

If Trump is not in those files grabbing a child by the -----, or a video of him doing something, well, you know, That is a big political gamble Democrats will have lost.
#17 | Posted by boaz

Your entire defense of Trump rests on pretending the only possible standard of guilt is "caught on video abusing a child."

That's not a defense; that's you raising the bar so high that nothing he actually did can ever count.

Trump already confessed to sexual assault in his own words, on tape, in front of the entire country. He bragged about behavior that is literally a crime. Multiple women gave matching accounts. The pattern is clear to everyone except people determined not to see it.

So yes, when someone with that history chooses to socialize with Epstein for years, it's relevant. You don't get to erase Trump's own admissions just because they're politically inconvenient.

If the standard you demand for Trump is "must be filmed assaulting a minor," then of course you'll never find him guilty of anything. But that says more about your threshold than his innocence.

#20 | Posted by rstybeach11 at 2025-11-18 05:46 PM

Trump is what happens when the Lords of the Realm put the Jester in the King's Chair.

Chaos ensues.

#21 | Posted by Corky at 2025-11-18 05:47 PM

Release the emails, all of them.
#16 | Posted by Petrous

At one point, this was a bipartisan agreement. Now the chickens have come home to roost.

#22 | Posted by rstybeach11 at 2025-11-18 05:48 PM

that's you raising the bar so high that nothing he actually did can ever count.

20 | POSTED BY RSTYBEACH11

The files are most likely to show that Trump abetted the continuance of felony behavior: actively, passively, or both.

I think it's both. As long as the files are not released, it's both. As long as there's suspicion the files have been tampered with it's both.

#23 | Posted by Zed at 2025-11-18 05:51 PM

Major B may have missed the part where Trump was convicted by a Jury of his Peers of finger-raping a woman (sexual abuse and civil battery) . Then he was convicted of defaming her and Fined $83 million.

This is their Hero, folks.

#24 | Posted by Corky at 2025-11-18 05:51 PM

MAGA and MASSAH are two words that sound very similar.

They are similar in meaning as well. Both are Eye Dialect for "Trump" " and common in North Carolinian vernacular amongst uncles who regularly kowtow to The Man.

And by "uncles" I suppose you could drill down further: the Toms and/or the Remuses.

#25 | Posted by pumpkinhead at 2025-11-18 05:57 PM

Senate unanimously approves bill to release Epstein files
www.nbcnews.com

... Just hours later, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., headed to the floor and requested unanimous consent that the measure be passed in the upper chamber once the bill is sent over from the House.

Not a single senator objected.

It means that once the paperwork is sent from the House to the Senate, the bill will be sent straight to Trump, who has vowed to sign it into law. ...



#26 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-11-18 06:07 PM

the bill will be sent straight to Trump, who has vowed to sign it into law. ...

Given his inept performance to date on the Epstein issue, he should massively fuck it up now.

It's just a matter of how.

#27 | Posted by REDIAL at 2025-11-18 06:10 PM

This just in from FOX News!

www.youtube.com

short

#28 | Posted by Corky at 2025-11-18 06:13 PM

Redial,

Trump said we're wasting too much time on this.

He'll sign it.

#29 | Posted by BillJohnson at 2025-11-18 06:16 PM

He'll sign it.

I'm waiting to see his orders to the DoJ on what to do after he signs it.

#30 | Posted by REDIAL at 2025-11-18 06:18 PM

The DOJ will say that national security will prevent the releasing of all files. There will be some either not released or altered.

#31 | Posted by BBQ at 2025-11-18 06:25 PM

Larry Summers was Treasury Secretary under Clinton.

Now that his name showed up in the Epstein material, he's suddenly vanished from the media circuit.

Funny how that works.

Summers' connection to Epstein does raise the question since his relationship with Epstein overlaps with the Clinton era he served in, what else was going on that nobody wanted to talk about?

#32 | Posted by BillJohnson at 2025-11-18 06:27 PM

you can put that together but cant figure out trump is a rapist.

#33 | Posted by Alexandrite at 2025-11-18 06:29 PM

"The DOJ will say that national security will prevent the releasing of all files"

That was why LftHndThrds said he didn't want the files released.

#34 | Posted by snoofy at 2025-11-18 06:33 PM

"Oh sorry. These files are now part of an ongoing investigation into Bill Clinton and they can't be released."
-Donald Trump

#35 | Posted by Sycophant at 2025-11-18 06:34 PM

Trump was convicted by a Jury of his Peers of finger-raping a woman (sexual abuse and civil battery) . Then he was convicted of defaming her and Fined $83 million.

Bill doesn't care. Reality cannot change his partisan opinions.

#36 | Posted by Alexandrite at 2025-11-18 06:34 PM

Alex,

We have to wait for more evidence of both.

I accept both are bad boys but which ones are stupid enough to mess with minors.

That's the question.

#37 | Posted by BillJohnson at 2025-11-18 06:35 PM

House Speaker Mike Johnson says Senate must stop the Epstein files bill
www.waaytv.com

#38 | Posted by rstybeach11 at 2025-11-18 06:36 PM

Bill Clinton doesn't have a history of storming into female dressing rooms.

Not that this will alter your "opinion" one bit.

#39 | Posted by Alexandrite at 2025-11-18 06:36 PM

I accept both are bad boys but which ones are stupid enough to mess with minors.
That's the question.
#37 | Posted by BillJohnson

Bad boys?! WTF, Bill? Why are you downplaying sexual assault? You sound like a fucking monster.

#40 | Posted by rstybeach11 at 2025-11-18 06:37 PM

Finger raping a woman is done by a "bad boy".

You're a sick animal, bill.

#41 | Posted by Alexandrite at 2025-11-18 06:38 PM

Rep. Clay Higgins is the one House member who voted to protect sex traffickers.

#42 | Posted by johnny_hotsauce at 2025-11-18 06:39 PM

Alex,

I know that.

But the "lingerie room" story wasn't about a minor, which is the whole point of the Epstein saga.

She claimed penile penetration, and even the jury didn't buy it.

#43 | Posted by BillJohnson at 2025-11-18 06:41 PM

- stupid enough to mess with minors.

Not immoral and or illegal, just 'stupid'.

#44 | Posted by Corky at 2025-11-18 06:42 PM

It means that once the paperwork is sent from the House to the Senate, the bill will be sent straight to Trump, who has vowed to sign it into law.
#26 | Posted by LampLighter

Trump could save the government some time and money and just order the release. He's clearly playing a game here. He's going to do whatever he can to continue giving cover to himself and others in those files.

#45 | Posted by johnny_hotsauce at 2025-11-18 06:43 PM

She claimed penile penetration, and even the jury didn't buy it.
#43 | Posted by BillJohnson

And just what might be your opinion about that?

#46 | Posted by rstybeach11 at 2025-11-18 06:44 PM

So... because the NY State law requires proof of vaginal penetration (such as?) this little finger-rape sexual abuse by Lard Trump doesn't count... means nothing?

BJ continues to give Trump one long everlasting BJ.

#47 | Posted by Corky at 2025-11-18 06:46 PM

She claimed penile penetration, and even the jury didn't buy it.
#43 | Posted by BillJohnson

And if she had proven it, with video, a beaten in face, gouged out eye, and vaginal tearing, would you care?

#48 | Posted by censored at 2025-11-18 06:48 PM

Alex,

I never said I approve of it.

I also don't approve of women lying and setting men up.

You'll have to direct that question to the men on this site. Is getting your finger stinky rape?

Rape requires penetration with a penis under the law.

Anything else falls under different categories of sexual assault.

#49 | Posted by BillJohnson at 2025-11-18 06:51 PM

Censor,

"vaginal tearing, would you care"

Exaggerating much?

#50 | Posted by BillJohnson at 2025-11-18 06:53 PM

#43 Yeah, yeah, yeah ... because nothing sounds quite like sensitivity towards women with this hanging on your reputation:

It wasn't rape. It was sexual assault

Oh, and while the jury didn't buy it (in your words), the judge in the case clarified it so that even knuckle-dragging mouth-breathers can understand:

U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan has stated that while the jury in E. Jean Carroll's civil case did not find Donald Trump liable for "rape" within the narrow definition of the New York Penal Law, it did find that he "raped" her in the common, everyday understanding of the word.
Is this just a further extension of your (and many, many others) defense that "a 15 year old girl is just an 'underaged woman'"?

Disgusting.

#51 | Posted by A_Friend at 2025-11-18 06:53 PM

PersonX is made of Teflon because his followers are morons.
THEY are the problem, PersonX is the symptom.
~ EveryPartisanMoron

#14 | Posted by oneironaut

Close. Trump's followers are deluded morons because of right wing propagandists. THEY are the problem.

Half of the country didn't live in delusion until fox news was created to "balance" out the facts with right wing propaganda.

#52 | Posted by SpeakSoftly at 2025-11-18 06:53 PM

Is getting your finger stinky rape?

We're done. You're an absolute monster.

#53 | Posted by Alexandrite at 2025-11-18 06:55 PM

Rep. Clay Higgins is the one House member who voted to protect sex traffickers.

#42 | Posted by johnny_hotsauce at 2025-11-18 06:39 PM | Reply | Flag: Captain "Law-and-Order" Clay Higgins, Republican

On Muslims: "Hunt them, identity them, and kill them. Kill them all. For the sake of all that is good and righteous. Kill them all."

www.teenvogue.com

#54 | Posted by C0RI0LANUS at 2025-11-18 06:56 PM

Exaggerating much?
#50 | Posted by BillJohnson

"bad boys"

The irony is rife, Bill. Have some self-awareness for once in your life.

#55 | Posted by rstybeach11 at 2025-11-18 06:56 PM

#49 Nonsense. Rape, as defined in various state laws around the country are clear what rape is - non-consensual penetration - , but remain fairly quiet that non-consensual penetration can only be with a penis

State laws define rape differently, but generally, it involves non-consensual penetration (oral, anal, vaginal) by force, threat, coercion, or when the victim is incapacitated (drunk, drugged, unconscious, or too young/disabled to consent). Key variations include whether physical force is required, if psychological coercion counts, and if non-penetrative unwanted touching is included, with some states moving to broader definitions focusing on the absence of consent, not just force, covering same-sex encounters and spousal rape.
Oops.

Perhaps you should stop thinking only with your penis.

Kust sayin ..

#56 | Posted by A_Friend at 2025-11-18 06:59 PM

#49 | Posted by BillJohnson

By your own "opinion" of what happened, Trump literally described and BRAGGED about what he was found liable of doing. Do you believe him when he says he did these things? Is it believable that Trump grabbed Carol by the pussy without her consent, considering he's admitted to doing exactly that on a routine basis?

Suddenly BJ is out of opinions.

#57 | Posted by rstybeach11 at 2025-11-18 07:00 PM

So... Thomas Massie(R) is saying that it's possible that these Files will still not be released using the excuse that they are Evidence in an on-going investigation.

He's one of the GOP that sponsored the release Bill.

#58 | Posted by Corky at 2025-11-18 07:01 PM

#56 | Posted by A_Friend

BJ is just riffing off his opinions. Facts don't matter to him, he doesn't even consider them. Just blissful chosen ignorance.

#59 | Posted by rstybeach11 at 2025-11-18 07:02 PM

I'm not interested in the lingerie story, where she surely would have been crying out, but oddly no one came to see what was going on because there was no one else on floor.

Yea...such credibility.

The question with the Epstein files is were minors involved and with who?

#60 | Posted by BillJohnson at 2025-11-18 07:02 PM

Rsty,

Minors....

Stay focused.

#61 | Posted by BillJohnson at 2025-11-18 07:03 PM

#60

BJ knows more than the Jury? Makes complete sense... if one is a Trump sycophant.

#62 | Posted by Corky at 2025-11-18 07:04 PM

#58 | Posted by Corky

It was always Trump's trump card. Even if he has to throw Kash Patel under the bus, considering Patel testified before congress that there was no evidence to warrant further investigations let alone prosecutions related to the Epstein files (i.e., "case closed"), these files will not see the light of day.

#63 | Posted by rstybeach11 at 2025-11-18 07:04 PM

Stay focused.
#61 | Posted by BillJohnson

Just asking for your opinion, Bill. What happened to you?

#64 | Posted by rstybeach11 at 2025-11-18 07:05 PM

#60 | Posted by BillJohnson

So you're not going to answer the question? It's really simple Bill, do you believe Trump when he said that he routinely commits sexual assault against women? And if so, why is it so hard for you to believe that he wouldn't also do such things to girls under the age of 18?

Do you think he was asking for their IDs before grabbing the pussies?

IOW, Bill, your logic simply doesn't compute. Which is clearly why you're ignoring the actual question: Is Trump a serial sexual predator, as he has bragged about, accused of dozens of times, and has been held liable for? Time for you to focus and provide an opinion.

#65 | Posted by rstybeach11 at 2025-11-18 07:08 PM

#59 Thanks!

#66 | Posted by A_Friend at 2025-11-18 07:09 PM

*And if so, why is it so hard for you to believe that he would also do such things to girls under the age of 18?

#67 | Posted by rstybeach11 at 2025-11-18 07:10 PM

Censor, "vaginal tearing, would you care"
Exaggerating much?
#50 | Posted by BillJohnson

What's the exaggeration? I'm just asking if there's a "bottom" beyond which Trump would lose your support.

My guess is that he could full on Epstein an underage girl on the White House lawn, and MAGAts would cheer him on. A few might stop cheering once he went with a boy, but they'd still vote for him.

#68 | Posted by censored at 2025-11-18 07:15 PM

"Mark Epstein has claimed that the files on his late brother, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, are allegedly being edited to remove names of Republicans."

people.com

#69 | Posted by Corky at 2025-11-18 07:24 PM

"I've been recently told, the reason they're going to be releasing the files and the reason for the flip is that they're sabotaging these files," Mark said, and alleged that Trump administration officials are "scrubbing the files to take Republican names out."

"That's what I was told, by a pretty good source," he added.

Also during the interview, Mark alleged that his brother had compromising information about Trump in 2016, the year Trump was running for his first term in office. Mark claimed Jeffrey told him around that time that the information he had on the candidates would be damning enough to "cancel the election."

#70 | Posted by Corky at 2025-11-18 07:26 PM

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