Quigley Statement on the Epstein Files

Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05) released the following statement on his vote to release the Epstein files.

“Today, I voted to release the Epstein Files. Jeffrey Epstein was a pedophile, sex offender, and human trafficker. He abused, trafficked, and threatened over 1,000 girls — some as young as 14 — causing irreparable harm to their physical and mental health. One survivor, Virginia Giuffre, died by suicide this spring, after years of death threats and public scrutiny. Epstein’s victims, including the late Virginia, deserve accountability. The American people deserve to know which systems failed and which powerful people allowed Epstein to get away with his heinous crimes for so long.

“From his friendship in the ‘90s to emails as recent as 2019, Donald Trump had a clear and public relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Trump and his cronies have been hellbent on blocking the release of Epstein’s personal documents, protecting a disgusting pedophile and his enablers. Speaker Mike Johnson even closed the House early this summer to stall the petition for this vote, and then in October, he refused to swear in Rep. Adelita Grijalva, the 218th signer on the petition, to block the release of the Epstein files.

“I am relieved my Senate colleagues acted quickly on this bill, and I can only hope President Trump lives up to his promise to sign it into law. While the bill we passed today requires transparency about any destruction or misplacement of documents, we all know this administration rarely feels bound by the law. The only way to prevent mismanagement is to release all the files as soon as possible, so this corrupt administration cannot destroy them in the future. The administration should know that Democrats will pursue a meticulous investigation into any documents that may be ‘lost’ or damaged, given this administration’s frequent disregard for the law.

“Americans deserve a government they can trust. The survivors and their families deserve to be heard. For Virginia, and for every victim of child abuse and sexual assault, I was proud to vote in support of releasing the Epstein files.”