Ohio lawmaker calls for release of all Epstein files

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(The Center Square) – An Ohio state representative has joined groups calling for the complete release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein’s criminal activities from federal authorities.

Rep. Karen Brownlee, D-Symmes Township, introduced a resolution that urges the U.S. Department of Justice to release the full, unredacted files, and she wants Republicans and Democrats to join her call by cosponsoring the resolution.

“The Epstein case isn’t just about one individual – it’s about a system that allowed exploitation and abuse of young women and children to go unchecked for years,” Brownlee said in a statement. "Victims deserve honesty, and the public deserves leadership who will put serious effort into ending human trafficking, sexual abuse and assault. Releasing these files will help restore faith in our justice system and stop the current attempts by those who were complicit in these crimes to revise history."

President Donald Trump has repeatedly denied any perverse connection to Epstein, but in 2002 called him a “terrific guy” in an interview with New York Magazine.

Earlier this week, Epstein’s victims repeated their call for full disclosure of all documents following a Department of Justice release of some Epstein files to a House oversight committee.

Trump continued to call the saga a hoax.

Brownlee says her resolution does three things, including:

• The need for government transparency to restore public trust.

• The importance of holding all perpetrators accountable, regardless of status.

• The responsibility to protect victims and ensure their stories are fully heard.

“This resolution is about affirming that no one is above the law,” Brownlee said. "It is time to take sexual crimes against women and children seriously, so we can have a safer future for all Ohioans.”

Epstein was convicted of soliciting prostitution and soliciting prostitution with a minor by a Florida court in 2008, but served minimal time in a county jail. Then, in 2019, he was arrested by federal agents under the first Trump administration on new federal sex trafficking charges, but he was found dead in his cell before the start of his trial. His death appeared to be a suicide, but because of the timing and his many connections with powerful and prominent people, there was widespread speculation that he was murdered to prevent incriminating evidence about some of his friends from coming to light.