The House voted overwhelmingly to release the DOJ's Epstein files, 427 to 1. The lone House member to vote against it: Louisiana Republican, Clay Higgins (R-LA).
Via social media, Higgins explains his vote, saying, "I have been a principled “NO” on this bill from the beginning. What was wrong with the bill three months ago is still wrong today. It abandons 250 years of criminal justice procedure in America. As written, this bill reveals and injures thousands of innocent people – witnesses, people who provided alibis, family members, etc. If enacted in its current form, this type of broad reveal of criminal investigative files, released to a rabid media, will absolutely result in innocent people being hurt. Not by my vote."
Higgins, a staunch Trump supporter, is also chair of the committee that initially subpoenaed the Justice Department for the Epstein files.
The Louisiana representative's statement further explained his vote and the circumstances under which he would vote to release the files:
"The Oversight Committee is conducting a thorough investigation that has already released well over 60,000 pages of documents from the Epstein case. That effort will continue in a manner that provides all due protections for innocent Americans. If the Senate amends the bill to properly address privacy of victims and other Americans, who are named but not criminally implicated, then I will vote for that bill when it comes back to the House."
The passage of the bill comes after months of opposition by Trump and House Speaker, Louisiana's Mike Johnson, to prevent the files from being made public. But in recent days, Trump reversed his stance, urging GOP House members to vote to release the files.
Now the bill heads to the Senate. Majority Leader John Thune told reporters the Senate may vote on the bill as soon as Tuesday.