{"id":17328,"date":"2025-10-15T14:45:36","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T14:45:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/?p=17328"},"modified":"2025-10-15T14:45:36","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T14:45:36","slug":"senate-narrowly-defeats-effort-to-force-doj-release-of-epstein-files-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/?p=17328","title":{"rendered":"Senate Narrowly Defeats Effort to Force DOJ Release of Epstein Files"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Senate Republicans on Wednesday narrowly voted to table an amendment that would have required the Justice Department to release all files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) used a procedural maneuver that caught the GOP off guard and left Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) visibly frustrated.<\/p>\n

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The 51\u201349 tally underscored internal Republican divisions over whether to force disclosure of the Epstein records, even as calls for transparency grow louder among MAGA-aligned voters, The Hill\u00a0reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a rising conservative figure, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a leading libertarian voice, broke with party leadership by voting against tabling the Epstein amendment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been my consistent position,\u201d Hawley told reporters after voting. \u201cMy 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. I think this is a similar deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Hawley pointed out that former President Trump recently called on the attorney general to release all non-classified Epstein files. Thune, meanwhile, was forced to allow a Senate vote on the matter \u2014 an outcome House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has worked to block in his chamber.<\/p>\n

Thune\u2019s only alternative would have been to pull the annual defense authorization bill, a key Republican priority, from the floor, The Hill reported.<\/p>\n

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Earlier Wednesday, senior GOP senators had expressed confidence they could muster the votes to table Schumer\u2019s amendment directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to release the files.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to table it,\u201d Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said of Schumer\u2019s amendment as he left the weekly chairmen\u2019s meeting on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n

Several Republican lawmakers initially signaled they were undecided, citing the need for greater \u201ctransparency\u201d surrounding Epstein\u2019s crimes.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ll see how it goes. We need to have a discussion about it but I think transparency is always good,\u201d Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), an Armed Services Committee member who is retiring next year, told The Hill.<\/p>\n

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said he would have supported Schumer\u2019s amendment if it stood a realistic chance of becoming law but noted GOP leaders were almost certain to remove it before the bill\u2019s final passage.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there was an amendment on the floor that would have the force of law, I\u2019d vote for it in a heartbeat,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The dispute over the Epstein files now threatens to complicate negotiations on other amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act.<\/p>\n

Thune appeared frustrated Wednesday after Schumer unexpectedly introduced his proposal directing the Justice Department to release all Epstein-related records, The Hill noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a political stunt and we\u2019ll dispose of it,\u201d the Senate Majority Leader told reporters.<\/p>\n

Schumer argued the vote would reveal whether Republicans are serious about making Epstein-related records public, including documents that could implicate other powerful figures tied to the sexual abuse of minors.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf Republicans vote no, they\u2019ll be saying to the American people you should not see the Epstein files. I ask my Republican colleagues, after all those years you spent calling for accountability, for transparency, for getting to the bottom of these awful crimes, why won\u2019t you vote yes?\u201d Schumer said on the floor.<\/p>\n

Notably, Schumer didn\u2019t mention Epstein or the need for more \u201ctransparency\u201d during the Biden years or when he was the Senate majority leader, nor did any other Democrat.<\/p>\n

The GOP leader had been negotiating amendment votes on the must-pass defense bill when Schumer bypassed the process and introduced his amendment, briefly seizing control of the Senate floor.<\/p>\n

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) openly questioned why GOP leaders allowed a spot on the legislative \u201ctree\u201d to remain open so that Schumer could file his amendment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know why we didn\u2019t have the tree filled. You can fill the tree and always unfill it later,\u201d he told The Hill. \u201cI don\u2019t know why we left the spot open on the tree. But we did and Schumer jumped on it like wet on water.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Getty Images This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion. Senate Republicans on Wednesday narrowly voted to table an amendment that would have required the Justice Department to … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17328","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17328"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17329,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17328\/revisions\/17329"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}