US lawmakers voted to release documents on Epstein’s affairs after Donald Trump changed

After leading a months-long campaign to thwart holding a vote in the House of Representatives, the American president finally gave his support to the text on Sunday.

The House of Representatives on Tuesday, November 18 gave the green light for authorities to release the investigative files of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, following a change of heart from Donald Trump who had long pressured Republicans to prevent a vote.

The bill, which passed with 427 votes in favor and 1 against, aims to enjoin the Ministry of Justice “to publish all documents and archives” in his possession regarding the New York financier, who died in prison in 2019 before being tried for sex crimes. He now heads to the Senate, where his fate is increasingly uncertain.

For months, Donald Trump has led an apparent campaign to thwart the holding of the House vote, with potentially embarrassing consequences for the president. The Republican billionaire confirmed Tuesday that he did not do that “nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein”confirmed that he had fired the financier from Mar-a-Lago, his luxury club in Florida, because of it “sick pervert”.

Faced with protests and increasing defections in his camp before the vote, Donald Trump finally pivoted on Sunday and gave his support to the text. “We have nothing to hide”he said, once again rebelling against what he saw as a “joke” installed by the Democratic opposition. But the American President did not explain why he did not order the Minister of Justice to publish the documents directly, without a vote in Congress.