Kyle Cave
Staff Writer
On November 18, the House voted 427-1 to motion the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release the Epstein Files. The almost unanimous vote is certainly a victory for the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and his abuse. The huge question on everyone’s mind now is “what happens next?”
The Trump administration in the lead-up to this vote has flip-flopped on the issue. Trump claimed he “had nothing to do with Epstein” when it was found that the two were best friends. Epstein also possessed a birthday book. This book contained a depiction of a naked woman drawn by Trump. Trump also denied this by saying, “I don’t draw pictures.” The drawing clearly has his signature at the bottom. Then, The Wall Street Journal confirmed that Pam Bondi told Trump that he was in the Epstein files.
These are not the only examples of flip-flopping. Pam Bondi, back in February claimed the files “were sitting on her desk waiting for review,” only to never release the files afterward. This entire situation has been another example of the Trump administration promising action, only to fail to follow through on it.
This situation has also opened wounds for the victims of Epstein’s abuse. This is a situation that should have required maximum transparency and could have been disclosed to the victims and the public months earlier.
The Epstein Files did not require a vote to be released to the public; the fact a vote needed to occur for the files to be released shows how much the administration was disinterested in releasing them.
We are now in a situation where the files have been ordered to be released to the public. But if they are released, will they be the full files? Will they be redacted? What will be redacted? Will the powerful men involved in this be named?
This is all up to the DOJ, a DOJ that hasn’t released the files it said it would earlier this year. The DOJ also opened an investigation into former President Bill Clinton for his ties to Epstein. The DOJ could very well use the investigation of the former president as an excuse not to release the files.
This situation has also been turned political by the administration. Instead of focusing on the victims and the powerful men who have abused thousands of women, the administration is trying to place the blame on political parties and political enemies.
What ends up getting released is yet to be seen. The handling of this entire matter by the administration will certainly guarantee skepticism on whatever files come out.
It is entirely self-inflicted. If the administration had followed the wishes of the people and released the files at the start of the year, this could have been avoided. The victims could have gotten justice, and skepticism could have potentially been mitigated.
In future administrations, it needs to be a guarantee that matters like this are acted upon swiftly, with care, and not made political by blaming political parties one does not like.