Senate suddenly passes the Epstein bill just hours after it cleared the House
Source: MS NOW
Hours after the House overwhelmingly passed a bill to force the release of files related to the Justice Departments investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the Senate quickly moved to pass the legislation by unanimous consent, sending the bill to President Donald Trumps desk for his signature.
Speaking on the Senate floor shortly after 5 p.m., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was able to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act using unanimous consent a process where a senator asks the chamber to disregard normal Senate rules and speedily act.
The move was so immediate that the Senate hadnt even received the bill. (Schumer took the unusual step of asking that, once the Senate actually gets the bill from the House, the legislation be deemed as passed.)
The sudden move to pass the bill in the Senate caps off a chaotic legislative process where Republicans spent months trying to deny Democrats a vote on the bill. In the House, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was forced to give the legislation a vote only after four Republicans joined all Democrats on a discharge petition. And after Republicans spent months trying to prevent a vote, they suddenly supported the legislation as soon as Democrats reached the magic threshold for the discharge petition.
Read more: https://www.ms.now/news/senate-passes-epstein-bill-rcna244723
wcmagumba
(5,198 posts)marble falls
(69,427 posts)wcmagumba
(5,198 posts)ananda
(34,018 posts)Thanks for noticing!
rampartd
(3,087 posts)he may even release a trillion pages of nonsense
but i dont think we are going to see who epstein's clients are.
C Moon
(13,337 posts)against the bill, refused to override. Then say, you had your vote Democrats. End of story.
3catwoman3
(28,165 posts)... that he just told them to do?
bluestarone
(20,821 posts)Their plan is Bondi. She will refuse to do it, because on going investigation. No doubt about that, in my thinking.
TheRickles
(3,077 posts)Random Boomer
(4,372 posts)If he vetoes, he's now flipped on his supposed support of the bill, which was itself a flip on opposing the bill. He would look ridiculous, and more to the point, patently guilty.
And if he signs it, he's sunk.
Gordcanuck
(144 posts)Even if he does sign off and the files are released, the content is but a fraction (1%est.) of all available. The rest in DOJ hands are hot potatoes for other actors and will be withheld.
The incriminating docs on Trumpy are already in the hands of Epsteins victims counsel who got them from his estate, quite willingly.
And theyre going to surface Buckle up, the real public sinking is coming soon!
TexLaProgressive
(12,629 posts)" C) would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution, provided that such withholding is narrowly tailored and temporary;"
That means that only those parts involving the investigations of democratic persons. Narrowly tailored and temporary. All others must be disclosed in full. I think this is why Massie (R KY) told the Senate "Don't muck it up!"
https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4405/text
Copy and paste of my earlier post
Born Free
(1,650 posts)Perhaps they can do another discharge petition, this time for a truly independent counsel to investigate and make sure all are held accountable. Trumps DOJ can not be trusted, the only way to get to the truth, including who knew and when did they know and who was involved with covering it up.
Demsrule86
(71,454 posts)riversedge
(78,881 posts)it is veto proof. Hope I got that right. Correct me if not.
electric_blue68
(24,991 posts)IronLionZion
(50,377 posts)interesting that they used unanimous consent instead of voting
Lots of magical things going on with this. hmm...
bluestarone
(20,821 posts)Didn't do the same.
IronLionZion
(50,377 posts)that could come back to bite him
2 GOP and 3 Dems abstained
Wiz Imp
(8,230 posts)he is the only Republican (except for the 4 who signed the discharge petition) who cast an honest vote on the bill. The rest of the Republicans already demonstrated they didn't honestly support the bill because they didn't sign the discharge petition. Theoretically, there could be a couple GOP Senators who legitimately supported it, but I'm not aware of anyone who came out publicly in support until the past day or two.
In a weird way, I think this helps prove that a large purpose of the shutdown as far as Republicans were concerned was to avoid releasing the Epstein files. The fact that all Republicans but 1 between the House and Senate combined were willing to vote against a bill they clearly didn't support, shows how terrified they were of the consequences of voting against it and being labeled a pedophile protector.
Based on info that has leaked, many if not all are well aware of how damning and disgusting some of the material in the files is.
doublethink
(7,261 posts)Unimous consent does not make it Veto Proof. F&^K!
Wiz Imp
(8,230 posts)If it were to be vetoed, they'd have to vote again to override the veto, but since no Republicans were willing to vote against it today, it would look even worse for them if they voted NO on overriding the veto.
Demsrule86
(71,454 posts)SamuelTheThird
(445 posts)Tribetime
(6,975 posts)And if something is blacked or hidden , they know what it is , so the truth will come out
Joinfortmill
(19,552 posts)wiggs
(8,570 posts)their attorneys? Does the WH know what the survivors are planning on doing, what the survivors know? Are there DOJ/FBI whistleblowers? Are there former Biden DOJ officials who know exactly what is in the files? What kinds of pressure are they receiving that is forcing this stance by congress to do something/anything? And what guarantees do they have that this will turn out OK for the GOP and WH? What we are seeing must be part of some serious crisis management team with a plan? I'm aware of the Epstein/dem investigation tactic but that could be a slender reed that may ultimately fail, maybe legally but certainly politically.
I still don't think they'll release any report detrimental to the WH (inc Epstein, but also climate, economy, immigration, etc). If they do release something halfway suspect, it's because the unredacted, unclassified, original files are much worse than what's released.
ancianita
(42,635 posts)As Ari and Alex just said, "the Trump era might be ending."
calimary
(88,545 posts)Oh, MAN! Be still my heart!
It would be truly lovely never to have to hear another word about that orange weasel.
ancianita
(42,635 posts)Sure, that alone would be a big relief, even if temporary.
callous taoboy
(4,753 posts)telling him it is over? Things are moving so fast. To have this bill pass the Senate by unanimous consent before it is even sent over.... WOW!
Of course, we all know who were dealing with, so I still impulsively tamp down my own hopes.
dickthegrouch
(4,176 posts)I want employee counts, time spent, which pages they are working on, everything that might otherwise be used by a law firm to justify its billing.
I thought all investigations had been stopped in January. *IF* there's ongoing one (that wasn't just started by Rump into supposed dem transgressions, which is also OK but only the investigation into the current powers that be are of any relevance here), I want proof (as will the court, if it's anywhere close to maintaining its integrity).
Justice matters.
(9,128 posts)And bondi closed the files saying there was no there there to indict non-indicted subjects.
That was in July or June. But now, she will obey pedo the felon's order to investigate the Dems (Clinton & Co).
But since she stated that no other charges were necessary in July, she will have to justify her statements back then.
The Roux Comes First
(1,987 posts)Wiz Imp
(8,230 posts)Justice matters.
(9,128 posts)But he won't.
Botany
(75,896 posts)And why in the world did a man with such a long, public, and immense record of sex crimes against
young girls (100% internet rumor is that in the 1990s Trump paid off 2 boys for sex crimes he had
committed against them) ever become President? Outside of cheating and a dirty media.
Wiz Imp
(8,230 posts)There are 2 scenarios for if Trump doesn't sign it.
1)Becomes law without signature (Congress in session): If the President does not sign or veto the bill within 10 days (excluding Sundays) of it being presented to him, it automatically becomes law, provided that Congress is still in session at that time.
2)Does not become law (Pocket Veto): If Congress adjourns its session before the 10-day period expires and the President has not signed the bill, it does not become law. This action is known as a pocket veto, and it cannot be overridden by Congress.
Botany
(75,896 posts)Thanks for the information.
Wiz Imp
(8,230 posts)Just an adjournment for the Holiday I think qualifies. Of course, Trump can sign it at anytime before the adjournment, but if he doesn't, then the bill is dead.
Botany
(75,896 posts)
. international child sex trafficking ring just with his beauty pageants and modeling try outs in
order to recruit new girls for the biz and that Mike Grindr Johnson is trying to protect Trump
from being held accountable for his actions. Either that or the files that will be released have been
scrubbed clean.
Wiz Imp
(8,230 posts)Last edited Tue Nov 18, 2025, 09:55 PM - Edit history (1)
There are plenty of people who have seen the files. Who knows how many people were working on the investigation under the Biden DOJ which Trump/Bondi stopped immediately upon taking office but I'm sure there were a lot of people working on it. The Biden DOJ was deciding who to charge and with what crimes. I'm sure there will be whistleblowers revealing the truth if necessary. Oh, and the bill itself details the only information that can be legitimately withheld or redacted. The only info that can be legally redacted is names and personal info of the victims. The names of any persons who had contact with Epstein that are mentioned in the files should be released. Embarrassment is not a valid reason for redaction.
(1) The Attorney general may withhold or redact the segregable portions of records that
(A) contain personally identifiable information of victims or victims personal and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;
(B) depict or contain child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) as defined under 18 U.S.C. 2256 and prohibited under 18 U.S.C. 22522252A;
(C) would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution, provided that such withholding is narrowly tailored and temporary;
(D) depict or contain images of death, physical abuse, or injury of any person; or
(E) contain information specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and are in fact properly classified pursuant to such Executive order.
(2) All redactions must be accompanied by a written justification published in the Federal Register and submitted to Congress.
(3) To the extent that any covered information would otherwise be redacted or withheld as classified information under this section, the Attorney General shall declassify that classified information to the maximum extent possible.
(A) If the Attorney General makes a determination that covered information may not be declassified and made available in a manner that protects the national security of the United States, including methods or sources related to national security, the Attorney General shall release an unclassified summary for each of the redacted or withheld classified information.
(4) All decisions to classify any covered information after July 1, 2025 shall be published in the Federal Register and submitted to Congress, including the date of classification, the identity of the classifying authority, and an unclassified summary of the justification.
WestMichRad
(2,800 posts)If the President takes no action while Congress is in session, and ten days pass, the bill automatically becomes law. However, if Congress adjourns before ten days expire and the President does not sign, it becomes a pocket veto and cannot be overridden.
- From How a bill becomes law
https://legalclarity.org/how-a-bill-becomes-a-law-in-8-steps/
So Johnson and Thune have a way to f**k us over
or, more likely IMHO, the DOJ will assign some stooge to investigate something and theyll prolong that process forever.
MLAA
(19,611 posts)Warpy
(114,211 posts)Ball's in his court, I guess. I'm still sort of expecting a pocket veto.
Sneederbunk
(16,990 posts)when TSF signs the bill, he will not be holding up the signed document for showtime.
AverageOldGuy
(3,167 posts)Pam Bondi announced they DOJ is investigating Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, and other Democrats to determine their connections to Epstein. Then, immediately, Trump told Republicans to vote to release the files.
It was all a setup.
Now DOJ will respond that there is an ongoing investigation and the Epstein files are part of that investigation and, for that reason, must remain sealed.
Trump wins again.
Justice matters.
(9,128 posts)And a lot more emails are coming soon to a theatre near them...
Fiendish Thingy
(21,567 posts)mcar
(45,482 posts)FakeNoose
(39,529 posts)Schumer set this up! I can't wait to read how he did this!
Hooray Senate! Good job Chuck Schumer!
Scrivener7
(57,864 posts)Either they're scrubbed or they'll claim open investigation.
bucolic_frolic
(53,291 posts)Many of the same Republicans who voted no - twice - on impeachment.
Is something in the works, behind the scenes? This is greased lightning.
Turbineguy
(39,646 posts)hacked into the DOJ and deleted the files.
TheRickles
(3,077 posts)popsdenver
(1,056 posts)of the Republican CABAL playing "We were victims too" card. But when WE were made aware, WE acted quickly and WE are the good guys in this whole thing, not the Dems........
In the real world, the Repubs would go the whole nine yards.....Impeach him, charge him with countless Felony crimes, find him guilty and put him in superman where he can talk to no one.........All just to make an example out of him and to win over his MAGAot cult......
Then, carry on with all they have been doing, but in the shadows, with Yes Men installed in the White House.....instead of some loud mouth psychopath constantly 'spilling" in public daily.....everything he and the entire Trump Republican CABAL and Republican Party are doing.
twodogsbarking
(16,817 posts)choie
(6,413 posts)either the files have been scrubbed or the DOJ is going to claim they can't release the files because there's an ongoing investigation.
BootinUp
(50,633 posts)Remball
(5 posts)Why arent the victims giving details? NDAs perhaps? How about a bill to void any NDAs so they can speak without repercussions. Name names, places, times, and acts.