Sen. Mark Kelly says President Donald Trump saw ‘writing on the wall’ with Epstein files

PHOENIX – U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona said Wednesday that President Donald Trump “saw the writing on the wall” before changing his tune on the release of the Epstein files.

In a whirlwind of events Tuesday, both chambers of Congress overwhelmingly approved legislation to force the Department of Justice to release its files related to the infamous Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case.

“It’s going to go over to the president’s desk now,” Kelly, a Democrat, told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Wednesday morning. “He’ll, I imagine, sign it. And then we’ll see if the Justice Department does the right thing and releases all the documents, as they should.”

Trump changed position on Epstein files ahead of House vote

The House passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act by a 147-1 vote, and the Senate approved it through an expedited process called unanimous consent.

In the days leading up to the House vote, which was triggered by new Arizona U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva’s signature on a discharge petition, Trump signaled he would sign the bill after previously seeking to quash it.

“He finally saw the writing on the wall that this was going to pass the House, and then he did a 180-degree turn on this and now is going to sign it, and then we’ll see what gets released here,” Kelly said.

Arizona’s senior senator hopes the Justice Department releases everything that it can legally after Trump signs the bill.

“And then we’ll see what is there and the investigators should follow the evidence here and if it makes sense that people get charged, they should be charged with crimes,” Kelly said.

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