Lone Member of Congress to Vote Against Epstein Files Release Says it Was a 'Principled' Decision

Few political scandals have metastasized the way the Jeffrey Epstein files have. Years after the disgraced financier’s death in federal custody, the public still demands transparency — not partisan spin, not selective leaks, but the full truth about who Epstein was connected to and how his operation flourished for so long.

Epstein, a convicted pedophile who built a vast network of influence through money, access, and manipulation, counted some of the world’s most powerful people as friends and associates. And because so many institutions failed to hold him accountable in real time, Americans across the political spectrum want answers — not cover-ups.

This week, they got one step closer. According to The Hill, the House overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill requiring the unsealing of Epstein-related files. The tally was staggering: 427–1.

The lone vote against the measure came from Rep. Clay Higgins, a Republican from Louisiana, who took to social media to defend his decision.

“I have been a principled ‘NO’ on this bill from the beginning,” Higgins wrote Tuesday. “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.”

Higgins didn’t back down. He warned that unleashing raw investigative material without safeguards could lead to collateral damage among individuals never accused of wrongdoing.

“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,” he continued. “Not by my vote. 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.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson raised similar concerns about privacy and due process but ultimately supported the measure in the name of transparency.

Rep. Thomas Massie, who co-sponsored the bill with Democrat Ro Khanna, remained unwavering in his push to ensure that the American people finally see the full scope of Epstein’s connections. After the near-unanimous House vote, Massie delivered a floor speech declaring:

“Truth will triumph over deception and obfuscation. Transparency will triumph over dark money. Partisanship will fall away to bipartisanship. Grassroots, the people, will reclaim the people’s house with this vote. It’s going to be a victory for survivors — not just survivors of the Epstein sex trafficking scandal, the thousand survivors that exist.”

The bill now advances to the Senate, where Majority Leader John Thune has already signaled it will move quickly. With bipartisan momentum building, Congress may finally be on the brink of exposing the full depth of Epstein’s political and social reach — wherever it leads, and no matter whom it implicates.