Schumer to force vote on releasing Epstein files as part of defense bill debate

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer on Wednesday filed an amendment to the annual defense authorization bill to force the Justice Department to release its files on the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case.

“There’s been so much lying, obfuscation, cover-ups,” the New York Democrat said. “The American people need to see everything that’s in the Epstein file. My amendment will make that happen.”

Mr. Schumer specifically accused President Trump of lying when he previously denied the existence of a birthday card he allegedly sent to Epstein with a drawing of a figure of a woman and references to secrets kept between them. 

The card was released earlier this week with files the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee obtained from the Epstein estate. Mr. Trump says he did not create the card and that the signature on it with his name is a fraud. 

The Senate will need to hold at least a procedural vote on Mr. Schumer’s amendment because he filed cloture on it. If that cloture vote gets support from 60 senators, there would be a vote on the amendment itself. 

“The American people, Democrats, independents, Republicans are demanding [the Epstein files] be made public, and it should be,” Mr. Schumer said. “We hope Republicans will vote for it. They should.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Republicans will not go along with Mr. Schumer’s ploy. 

“It’s a political stunt and we’ll dispose of it,” the South Dakota Republican said.

While any senator can offer an amendment to a bill that’s open for debate, typically the Senate majority fills the “amendment tree” to block that from occurring. The amendment tree was not filled on the defense bill as Republicans worked with Democrats to negotiate a bipartisan package of amendments to consider. 

Mr. Schumer’s Epstein amendment mirrors a bill in the House from Reps. Thomas Massie, Kentucky Republican, and Ro Khanna, California Democrat, who are using the discharge petition process to force a vote in their chamber. The discharge petition will get the 218th signature needed to do so after a Sept. 23 special election in Arizona, presuming the Democratic candidate wins as expected.

Mr. John Thune declined to comment when asked Tuesday whether he would bring that bill up for a vote if it passed the House but said he is “all for transparency, disclosure and whatever makes that possible.” 

“The Department of Justice has already released tons of files,” Mr. Thune said, referring to a release of more than 34,000 to the House Oversight Committee, which later made those partially redacted files public.