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in General Factchecking by Newbie (200 points)

Representative Tim burchett claims that if it werent for democrats blocking it, a vote would've passed to "release the epstein files".

I see similar things being said by the NY Post: Democrats blocked GOP efforts to fast-track vote on Epstein files to keep issue alive longer, Republicans charge

Considering most of the news about the epstein files is about republican senators breaking from the administration in order to release the files, what does this mean? Are dems actually blocking the release or is there something missing here?

4 Answers

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by Apprentice (1.5k points)
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This claim is false as both republicans and democrats voted yes to release the files. They had a near unanimous vote in both the house and the senate. Most of the sources mentioned in the claim were from bias right winged sources. The senate voted unanimously to fast track the bill. 

source: https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cvgmrrrrlvmt

https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/house-vote-full-epstein-files-release-move-speaker/story?id=127593181

False
ago by (190 points)
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You did very well on pointing out the bias held within the claim, as political claims are very likely to be. I found your source from BBC News extra helpful as I dove in to learning more about this bill that was passed. It is also a very reliable and unbiased source.
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by Apprentice (1.4k points)

From my findings there was one instance of the democrats blocking a fast-track bill called the "Epstein Files Transparency Act", the bill Burchett is referring to. The failure to pass the bill with unanimous consent has been covered almost universally by conservative media outlets, such as the New York Post and other smaller sites. It seems that the democrats did that to maintain the spotlight on the Epstein files, but it's hard to find anything substantive that corroborates that. 

True
ago by (180 points)
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Good observation. You make the claim that this bill failure has been almost universally covered by conservative outlets such as the New York Post however you do not link said articles or statistics that show this is the case which hinders your argument a bit.
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ago by (190 points)
After doing research, this claim is not correct due to the passing of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. This bill had a 427-1 vote, with only Representative Clay Higgins of Louisiana disagreeing with the release of the files. This bill was passed by the majority of all democrats and republicans.

The author of this claim showed bias as he was a member of the GOP and had no evidence to support his claim besides himself. He had a biased reason to blame the democrats as his reason was due to their "hatred for Trump."

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11/18/us/trump-epstein-files-news

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4405
False
ago by (160 points)
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What’s especially telling here is that the outcome undermines the idea of partisan obstruction altogether. A near-unanimous vote like that signals institutional consensus, not a coordinated effort by one party to suppress information. When both Democrats and Republicans overwhelmingly support the same transparency measure, it weakens claims that this was driven by partisan loyalty or anti-Trump sentiment.

It also highlights a common problem with politically charged claims: motive is asserted without evidence. Pointing to party affiliation or assumed animus (“hatred for Trump”) isn’t a substitute for documentation or corroboration. In contrast, the legislative record is public, verifiable, and bipartisan, which makes it a much stronger basis for evaluating what actually happened.
0 like 0 dislike
ago by (190 points)
This claim is untrue, as democrats voted unanimously in the House and the Senate for the release of the files under the Epstein Transparency Act. They voted in tandem with the Republicans, who voted unanimously, save for one vote in the House of Representatives, Clay Higgins of Louisiana.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxr1r34ev9o
False

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