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The U.S. Senate voted against an amendment to force the release of all of the files related to late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein on Wednesday (September 10), NBC News reports.
The vote resulted in a 51-49 vote in favor of tabling the amendment, which was introduced by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), with Republicans Rand Paul of Kentucky and Josh Hawley of Missouri joining all 47 Democrats voting against its tabling.
“My position has long been I think we ought to release those files and trust the American people, just like we did with the MLK files and the JFK files," Hawley told reporters via NBC News.
Schumer used a procedural tactic to force the Epstein files vote on the Senate floor, pitching an amendment that included similar language to bipartisan legislation pushed by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) during previous efforts.
“There has been so much lying, obfuscation, cover-ups, the American people need to see everything that’s in the Epstein file, and my amendment would make that happen,” Schumer told reporters via NBC News.
“Look, the bottom line is the American people need to see this. Donald Trump has lied about this,” he added. “There has been so many lies, so much prevarication, so much cover-up. The American people, Democrats, independents, Republicans are demanding it be made public, and it should be. We hope Republicans will vote for it. They should.”
An alleged doodle and note made by President Donald Trump and an alleged letter written by former President Bill Clinton were included in the birthday book records released to the House Oversight Committee on Monday (September 8). The alleged Trump note, which was originally reported by the Wall Street Journal in July and Trump publicly denied existed, includes a doodle of a woman's body.
The book was turned over to the committee with a larger tranche of documents on Monday, Rep. Robert Garcia, the panel's top Democrat, confirmed in a statement obtained by Axios.
"It's time for the President to tell us the truth about what he knew and release all the Epstein files. The American people are demanding answers," Garcia said, adding that Democrats are now "carefully reviewing the contents of the book and additional documents to determine the full extent of the implications," and "expect to release our findings to the public."
Trump threatened to sue the Wall Street Journal for its report, which he called "defamatory" and "a fake thing" in a post shared on his Truth Social account.
“I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women,” Trump told the newspaper in a phone interview in July via NBC News. “It’s not my language. It’s not my words.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also claimed that "it's very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it" in a post shared on her X account.
The birthday book also reportedly included an alleged note to Epstein from former President Bill Clinton was also handed over to the House Committee. The alleged Clinton note referred to the late convicted pedophile as having "childlike curiosity" and a "drive to make a difference."
Trump had previously directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to release "pertinent" grand jury testimony in the case against Epstein pending court approval amid scrutiny facing his administration.
“Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.
“This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!” he added.
Quinnipiac University released a poll in July showing a majority of Americans (63%) disapproved how Trump and his administration had handled the Epstein files. Podcaster Joe Rogan, who staunchly supported Trump in the 2024 presidential election, criticized the administration's announcement claiming there was never a list or footage revealing Epstein's alleged clients, which was a talking point of conservative pundits for years.
“They’ve got videotape and all [of] a sudden they don’t,” Rogan said on the episode of his Joe Rogan Experience podcast released on Tuesday (July 15).
“You had the director of the FBI on this show saying, ‘If there was [a videotape], nothing you’re looking for is on those tapes,'” he added, referring to FBI Director Kash Patel's appearance on his podcast in June. “Like, what? Why’d they say there was thousands of hours of tapes of people doing horrible s–t? Why’d they say that? Didn’t Pam Bondi say that?"
Bondi had previously claimed that the supposed Epstein list was on her desk awaiting review months ago and told reporters that the FBI was reviewing "tens of thousands of videos" of Epstein "with children or child porn" on July 1 before the DOJ suddenly announced that there was no "Epstein list" or incriminating footage of his associates days later. President Trump spent months claiming he had plans to release everything the government had on Epstein and his alleged associates, which included releasing The Epstein Files: Phase 1 in February, though the files revealed next to no new information.
Trump, who had been photographed alongside Epstein in the past, claimed that he never visited the financier's notorious private island where numerous underage girls and young women were sexually abused, but claimed "a lot of people did."