Congressman Cohen Votes to Release the Jeffrey Epstein Files

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), who signed a discharge petition on September 1 to require a vote on release of Department of Justice files on sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein, made that vote today. The measure passed on a 427 to 1 vote after Donald Trump authorized Republican House members to support it. Afterward, Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

“Today’s vote was long overdue but, in a sense, unnecessary. Donald Trump has all along had the authority to release the files without a vote in Congress. Now it appears he has come up with a strategy to have Pam Bondi go after prominent Democrats named in the files, which could and probably will delay their release. The American people, including Trump’s MAGA base, are demanding to know which powerful men thought they could remain unidentified and get away with in assaulting underage women. We’re all demanding answers: justice delayed is justice denied.”

As a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, Congressman Cohen pressed both Trump Attorney General Bill Barr in July 2020 and FBI Director Christopher Wray in July 2019 about the Epstein files in oversight hearings.

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