Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) took steps Wednesday to compel a vote on the release of documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case, bringing the divisive matter to the forefront of Senate debate.
In an unexpected step, Schumer set up a procedural vote on an amendment requiring Attorney General Pam Bondi to release any Justice Department records connected to Epstein and his associates. He attached the proposal to the broad defense policy bill before the Senate.
He emphasized that the measure mirrors language in a measure introduced by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) in the House and had been introduced separately by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR).
“There’s been so much lying, obfuscation, cover-ups,” Schumer told reporters on Wednesday afternoon. “The American people need to see everything that’s in the Epstein files, and my amendment would make that happen.”
The renewed push comes as President Donald Trump has tried to dismiss the matter, calling it a “hoax” last week. Democrats on Capitol Hill, meanwhile, have worked to keep the controversy alive. House Democrats this week obtained and released a sexually suggestive doodle and note purportedly signed by Trump in a birthday book compiled for Epstein in 2003. The White House denied the existence of the note when the Wall Street Journal reported on it in July and now claims it’s not his signature.
Republicans quickly bristled at Schumer’s maneuver, warning it could be seen as a hostile act that jeopardizes bipartisan negotiations on the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act. Several GOP Senate sources argued that Schumer’s amendment isn’t seen as a serious attempt to release the files.
Schumer brushed aside those concerns, insisting the push was necessary.
“The bottom line is the American people need to see this. Donald Trump has lied about this. … The American people, Democrats, independents, Republicans are demanding it be made public, and it should be,” he said.
Pressed on why Democrats didn’t move to release the files during their control of the White House and Justice Department, Schumer said the need has become more urgent given what he described as an escalating pattern of “lies” and public demand.
“It’s become so apparent that they’re lying about it in every different way, and the demands of the American people are so great,” he said.
MASSIE INCHES CLOSER TO FORCING AN EPSTEIN VOTE WITH PAIR OF SPECIAL ELECTIONS
If Republicans block his effort, Schumer added, “It speaks pretty badly of them.”
A vote on Schumer’s amendment itself remains a long shot. Before reaching the floor, it must clear a procedural hurdle that requires 60 votes, meaning at least a dozen Republicans would need to join Democrats. Republicans could also move to table the proposal outright.