DeLauro on Epstein Vote: “No One Can Hide From The Truth”

by Paul Bass

Let the full truth come out, no matter the personal or political consequences.

So declared Rosa DeLauro Tuesday after she joined fellow members of the House of Representatives of both parties in voting to direct the Justice Department to release all its files on the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

DeLauro, a New Haven Democrat, made the declaration in a video her office released after her vote. (It appears at the bottom of this story.)

“It is long overdue. The American people deserve transparency,” DeLauro stated. “They deserve the truth. And survivors, they deserve justice.”

DeLauro’s video reflects the way that veteran elected officials like DeLauro, who was first elected in 1990, have turned to the short-form format to get out their message. Unlike in some video in which she tried to capture the youthful humor of short-term vertical video, DeLauro adopted a somber, straightforward tone as, amid cuts to scenes from the House vote and photos of Epstein with Donald Trump, she made the case for a full file release.

DeLauro’s vote reflects the sudden bipartisan rush to embrace full disclosure after Republicans and the Trump administration spent months seeking to keep the files secret. Democrats are gambling that the files might contain explosive revelations about Trump, amid some warnings that they may be overreaching rather than focusing on the populist economic message that helped them sweep elections nationwide this month. They’re also gambling that revelations about Democrats like former President Bill Clinton won’t harm their own party. Republicans, including Trump, have reversed course on the issue after failing to convince their base to ignore this “hoax.”

“Those with power and privilege hoped the public would simply move on. They assumed they would never be exposed. They were wrong. No one, Democrat, Republican, billionaire, celebrity can hide from the truth,” DeLauro argued.

“Wherever the files expose wrongdoing, consequences must follow. This is how we get justice for surivvors and how we ensure that this will never happen again.”