[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 123 (Thursday, July 17, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4437-S4438]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                 Unanimous Consent Request--S. Res. 325

  Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. President, I am introducing this resolution to 
require

[[Page S4438]]

the Department of Justice to release its files related to Jeffery 
Epstein.
  For years, Donald Trump and the MAGA movement have railed on about 
the Epstein files. They have told the American people they are going to 
release the files and expose the elites. Pam Bondi has said she has the 
files on her desk, and they are ready to go public.
  The names of these shady elites who have abused children were just 
sitting there, and she was ready for it to be released.
  But now a complete reversal.
  Trump is straight up gaslighting the American public. Does he think 
the American people are that dumb? Did he really think the American 
people would not forget what he had said for years on the campaign 
trail?
  Just yesterday, we learned that the Trump administration abruptly 
fired one of the lead prosecutors in the Epstein case--no explanation. 
No warning. Just gone.
  So what happened? It is really easy to run a campaign and rile up 
people, but when it is Trump's turn to actually expose the elites, 
Trump has chickened out. And it is because he is one of those elites, 
and he is taking care of his own.
  It is all connected. Just look at his legislative agenda: tax breaks 
for his rich buddies; subsidizing private jet purchases. Again and 
again, he rigs the system against everyday Americans. And that is what 
this resolution is about, to show the American people they deserve the 
truth.
  No more shady coverups. If there is any evidence of a coverup in the 
Epstein case, the public has a right to know. If there is a list, the 
public deserves to see it. Americans deserve to see the truth, even if 
it is not what Donald Trump and his elite friends want.
  If the Department of Justice has these files and there is nothing to 
hide, then release them and prove it. Trump's own people have told us a 
million times that they have it and that they promised to make it 
public. So bring it out. It doesn't matter who is implicated in that.
  The American people are done with these games, these lies, and the 
two systems of justice: one for the elites and one for everyone else.
  Enough with the secrets. The American people deserve the truth. So I 
am calling on my fellow Senators to join me in demanding the Department 
of Justice release the Epstein files to restore public trust, affirm 
institutional accountability, and to prevent the politicization of 
justice.
  With that, as if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule 
XXII, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the consideration 
of S. Res. 325, submitted earlier today; further, I ask unanimous 
consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, 
and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the 
table with no intervening action or debate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. MULLIN. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, this is 
nothing but political theater. It is so obvious that the Democrats are 
just using this for a political football.
  If they are really serious about this, what happened the last 4 
years? Where were they? Silent. Doing nothing but covering up for an 
absent President. And now, all of a sudden, they want to talk about 
transparency.
  We haven't even figured out who ran the White House the last 4 years, 
and now all of a sudden, they want to make something of this. Are you 
kidding me?
  If they are serious about it, then why didn't they say something the 
last 4 years? This is nothing more than just political theater trying 
to go after a President that they truly despise; therefore, I object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard.
  Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. President, the Senate just had the chance to demand 
transparency and stand up for the truth. Instead, my colleagues chose 
to protect the powerful and perpetuate years of misinformation.
  Transparency is the foundation of accountability. When people are 
told again and again that the evidence exists, and then, suddenly, 
they're told it doesn't, that undermines the faith in our entire 
system, and it's an insult to the intelligence of every single American 
paying attention.
  You don't rebuild public trust by hiding the truth Mr. President; you 
do it by proving you have nothing to hide. So I'll ask again, if 
there's nothing to hide in the Epstein case, then what are you so 
afraid of? What are they hiding? Why did the Trump administration 
abruptly fire the prosecutor leading the case? Why the silence? Why the 
backpedaling? Why the objection?
  The Department of Justice should work for the people, not the 
powerful elites.
  Today's resolution should have made that clear.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.