WASHINGTON, Sept 24 —US lawmakers demanding the release of investigative files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein now have the numbers to force a vote on the issue, after a Democratic candidate won a congressional seat in Arizona yesterday.
Adelita Grijalva beat Republican Daniel Butierez 70.6 per cent to 27.6 per cent for Arizona’s 7th congressional district, with 80 per cent of the votes counted as of 11:30 pm (2.30pm Malaysian time), US media reported.
Once sworn in, Grijalva will join a bipartisan effort in Congress to force a vote on ordering the Justice Department to publicly release the federal investigative files related to Epstein, who died in custody before his trial on new sex trafficking charges.
Several Republicans have joined the effort, but it has until now remained one lawmaker short of the support it needs to force a vote.
“If elected, on my very first day in Congress, I’ll sign the bipartisan discharge petition to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files,” Grijalva said in a statement on Monday, according to US media.
Following the vote, she wrote on social media: “We made history—juntos (together). Now, let’s get to work!”
President Donald Trump has struggled to shake off questions about his ties to his former friend Epstein.
A congressional panel investigating Epstein’s sex crimes released a lewd birthday letter this month that Trump allegedly sent to Epstein in 2003 — which the president claimed did not exist and the White House denies is authentic.
Epstein, a wealthy financier with high-level connections around the world, was found dead in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for alleged sex trafficking of underage girls recruited to provide him with sexual massages. — AFP
