Rep. Pete Aguilar (CA-33) released the following statement on his vote in support of the Epstein Files Transparency Act to force the Trump Administration to release all of the Epstein files and help bring justice to Epstein’s victims:

“Today was an important, bipartisan step toward justice for the survivors of disgraced pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. But let’s be clear: it should not have taken this long to get a vote in the House on this critical issue. 

“Donald Trump campaigned on releasing the Epstein files, yet for nearly a year, he and his Republican henchmen, including Speaker Johnson, have been hellbent on hiding the truth. Even at the eleventh hour, Donald Trump was calling Republican Members asking them to remove their names from a discharge petition that would force a vote to release the files. 

“Over the weekend, Donald Trump realized he didn’t want to lose and so he changed his tune but make no mistake: this is a White House cover up. If Donald Trump truly wanted transparency, he could have directed his Department of Justice to release the files at any time over the last year. Now, with the opportunity to sign this legislation into law, the President must direct his Department of Justice to release all the files. The American people will have the opportunity to judge for themselves who is the party of transparency.”