Both chambers advanced the resolution with overwhelming support, reflecting sustained public and legislative pressure for more transparency surrounding Epstein’s activities and connections.

The bill follows months of debate, internal divisions, and shifting positions among lawmakers across the political spectrum.

Despite earlier resistance, the administration has now indicated that the president intends to sign the measure once it officially reaches the White House.

The decision comes after years of public scrutiny surrounding Epstein, whose death in federal custody in 2019 and long history of interactions with influential figures continue to generate questions.

Supporters of the bill argue that releasing the documents will help provide clarity, accountability, and closure to survivors who have long demanded transparency.

Before the vote in the House of Representatives, a group of survivors gathered outside the U.S. Capitol alongside bipartisan lawmakers to advocate for disclosure of the files.

Many held photographs from the time of their abuse, underscoring the personal significance of the legislation and the broader push for public access to the records.

When the House passed the resolution with near-unanimous approval, the survivors stood in the gallery to applaud lawmakers, many visibly emotional.

Their presence highlighted the ongoing impact of the case and the determination of those seeking answers regarding Epstein’s network and the handling of investigations into his conduct.

Despite shifting his stance, the president has continued to express frustration over the renewed attention on the case.

During a public appearance, he repeated that he had no involvement in Epstein’s crimes and dismissed questions about the matter as politically motivated.

The White House was reportedly surprised by the speed with which the measure moved through Congress, especially after anticipating more prolonged debate in the Senate.

Analysts say the rapid momentum reflects bipartisan alignment on releasing the files, driven in part by public expectations and voter sentiment.

Recent national polling has shown declining approval ratings for the administration’s handling of the issue, contributing to political urgency around the matter.

The longstanding association between the president and Epstein in past decades has also resurfaced in public discussions, although the president insists the relationship ended long before Epstein’s legal troubles escalated.

Lawmakers from both parties have described the release of records as essential for restoring trust and addressing lingering doubts about how the Epstein investigations were conducted.

Supporters argue that transparency is necessary not only for the survivors but also for ensuring confidence in the justice system.

Some members of Congress have pushed for even faster disclosure, emphasizing the need for full accountability.

One legislator leading the effort called for consequences if the files reveal any protection of individuals involved in criminal activity, stating that justice must apply equally regardless of status or wealth.

The issue has also caused friction within political circles, including disagreements involving prominent figures known for supporting strong oversight of federal agencies.

Some confirmed they faced pressure to shift their position on the resolution but chose to support it based on principles of transparency and accountability.

Survivors and advocates say the release of the files is only the first step in understanding the full scope of Epstein’s network and the actions of those who may have enabled or protected him.

They continue to call for thorough review and, where appropriate, further legal action.

Although Epstein’s death closed the criminal case against him personally, civil cases and related investigations remain active across multiple jurisdictions.

The newly mandated disclosure of records is expected to inform ongoing inquiries and potentially broaden public understanding of the events surrounding his activities.

As Congress moves the measure toward final approval, the case remains a prominent example of the challenges and debates surrounding high-profile investigations.

Lawmakers and advocates say the forthcoming release of records marks a significant moment in ongoing efforts to provide clarity, ensure accountability, and support survivors seeking answers.

Co-Author SM Faiyaz Hossain

Under the current interim regime, extrajudicial violence has not merely been tolerated; it has been routinized.

Once lionized as the “banker to the poor,” Mohammad Yunus the microcredit mythologist now presides—directly or symbolically—over a Bangladesh in slow-motion disintegration. Over the past fourteen months, the mounting crises—economic, legal, social and political—no longer speak of mere instability; they shout systemic collapse and kleptocracy. Yunus’s promise of reform now rings hollow amid daily horrors.

The promise reflects his longstanding fictitious tales of donor friendly rhetoric and fundraising manuals pertaining to three zeros; and sending poverty to museums. 

Economic Stagnation and Social Collapse

Bangladesh’s long-praised growth trajectory has lost traction. In FY 2024–25, growth fell to 4.1 %, the weakest since the COVID era, per World Bank assessment. If the investment drought deepens, projections suggest a drop toward 3.3 % in 2025.

Over 100 garment factories have shuttered over the past year, costing tens of thousands of jobs (Daily Industry BD). Official unemployment hovers at 4.6 %, but a deeper reckoning of underemployment, youth joblessness, and hidden labor markets suggests far higher human cost (Daily Observer). Nearly 85 % of workers remain informal—no contracts, no social protection (Dhaka Tribune).

In industrial belts like Gazipur, police acknowledge many arrested for petty theft or street mugging are recently laid-off factory workers (New Age). When the state fails to provide, survival becomes the only logic, and crime swells to fill the void.

Theories of Yunus delivered to convince his Western philanthropists have failed to make financial relevance with Global investors. Yunus doesn’t just lack political acumen, he was too naïve to begin his step in the game. 

Lawlessness, State Terror, and Mob Carnage

Justice no longer exists as a concept, only as a performative façade masking systemic brutality and institutional collapse. Under the current interim regime, extrajudicial violence has not merely been tolerated; it has been routinized. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, at least 8 extrajudicial killings and 19 deaths in custody were documented.

Between August 2024 and March 2025, human rights monitors recorded 20 such killings, involving torture, beatings, and summary executions. Mob lynchings have surged with terrifying ferocity: between mid-2024 and mid-2025, at least 637 people were lynched—representing a twelvefold increase from the 51 deaths recorded in 2023.

This wave of vigilante violence has been met with state indifference—if not tacit encouragement. Simultaneously, religious minorities have been subjected to a coordinated campaign of persecution: between August 2024 and June 2025, 2,442 hate crimes—including arson, sexual assaults, desecration of temples and churches, and targeted killings—were recorded, underscoring a culture of impunity that has metastasized into open terror.

These are not isolated incidents but symptoms of a regime where law is weaponized, justice is ornamental, and human life is expendable.

Since Muhammad Yunus assumed office, there has been a disturbing rise in alleged political persecution through the legal system: arrests, false lawsuits, and invented murder charges serving as tools of harassment rather than justice. Beyond the courts, thousands have been detained under Operation Devil Hunt, with over 11,300 arrests reported by late February 2025, many allegedly including people with only tenuous or no links to criminal acts. 

Yunus never had, never tried for public mandate. Employed by the protesters of July uprising is far from being a democratic mandate. Yunus never had the courage to face a public referendum to justify his throne. He preferred to enjoy the authority, ban political parties without referendum and promote divisive rhetoric among the masses. 

Women, Children, and the Machinery of Cruelty

The sexual violence statistics are a national disgrace. In the first half of 2025, 481 rape cases were reported—nearing the total for all of 2024 (The Daily Star). Child rape cases, in just one seven-month span, rose by 75 % (The Daily Star).

Protests led by women or students are met with torture, rape threats, solitary confinement (Human Rights Watch). Ibtedayi teachers demanding job recognition were beaten, tear-gassed, and dispersed in January 2025 (JMBF).

Prisons continue to serve as killing grounds. Deaths in custody are frequent; euphemisms like “heart attacks” or “natural causes” mask systematic violence.

Corpses in Rivers: the Floating Dead

A macabre trend haunts Bangladesh’s waterways. River police data show that in 2025, an average of 43 bodies each month have been pulled from rivers, up from 36 per month in 2024. From January to July 2025 alone, 301 bodies were recovered; 92 remain unidentified. Narayanganj recorded 34 recoveries, Dhaka 32 (Daily Star).

In one case, a woman and a child were found floating in the Buriganga River, both strangled before being dumped, according to autopsy (Financial Post BD). In late August, a headless body was recovered from the Shitalakkhya River in Narayanganj; the victim was later identified as a 27-year-old man (Financial Post BD).

In Keraniganj, the bodies of a man and woman were discovered tied with a 50-kg rice sack, and another victim in a burqa drifted nearby (Financial Post BD).

In Netrokona District (March 2025), the bodies of three fish poachers were found in the Dhanu River after clashes involving community groups (bdnews24). In Chandpur, two older men were retrieved from the Dakatia River—one with visible stab wounds and a severed leg vein (Dhaka Tribune)¹⁷.

In Khulna, over 50 bodies were pulled from various rivers between August 2024 and September 2025; 20 remain unidentified (Khulna naval police). In Chandpur’s Meghna River, seven bodies from an Al Bakhira cargo vessel murder were handed over to families—and a probe committee was formed (BD Pratidin).

Notably, the body of journalist Bibhuranjan Sarkar—after threats and intimidation—was recovered from the Meghna River in Munshiganj in August 2025 (IFJ / BMSF).

These are not accidents or drownings; they are executions turned invisible, pollution turned weapon, rivers made into graveyards without funeral. 

Passport, Visas, and Global Shame

Bangladesh’s passport value has eroded, visa rejections are multiplying, and global watchdogs—HRW, Odhikar, UN human rights bodies—have flagged Dhaka for systemic violations.

The moral capital of the country is bankrupt. Investors and donors hesitate to engage with a government intertwined with terror, silence, and complicity.

Disasters as Symptoms, Not Anomalies

The October 13, 2025 garment-chemical factory fire in Dhaka, which killed 16 workers, was not a random accident — it was a preventable massacre. Locked rooftop escape doors and unchecked toxic gas turned the building into a sealed crematorium.

Days later, the Yunus government has failed to launch any credible investigation, identify the factory owners, or bring those responsible to justice.

No arrests have been made, no compensation schemes publicly disclosed, and no structural safety audits initiated. Instead, the administration has issued vague statements and deflected responsibility, shielding business interests at the expense of workers’ lives. This silence is not mere negligence — it is complicity. 

This is not a standalone incident, rather a pattern. The handling of the Gazi Tire Factory fire tragedy reflects a troubling pattern of negligence and institutional disregard for accountability.

Despite the devastating loss of life and clear safety failures, Yunus—under whose interim government the incident unfolded—failed to ensure a thorough, transparent investigation or meaningful compensation for victims’ families.

This inaction not only denied justice to the workers but also signaled an alarming indifference to labor rights and workplace safety. In the past 13 months, similar negligence has been observed in incidents such as the Hazaribagh factory fire (2024) and the Chittagong shipbreaking yard accidents (2024-2025), where victims were met with inadequate investigations and stalled compensation efforts.

By neglecting to pursue corporate responsibility and systemic reform, Yunus reinforced the vulnerability of industrial workers in Bangladesh, deepening mistrust between the state and its most exploited laborers. His failure to act decisively in the aftermath stands as a stark contradiction to his international image as a champion of social justice.

Over the past 13 months of the Yunus regime, Bangladesh’s labour sector has been trapped in a cycle of grand promises, fragile protections, and cynical neglect. The government’s repeated declarations of “historic reforms” amounted to little more than political theatre, as factory floors across the country continued to mirror a grim reality of wage theft, unsafe workplaces, and repressed voices.

While MoLE boasted of upcoming amendments to labour laws, millions of workers — especially in the sprawling informal sector — remained invisible to the legal system. Inspection bodies were underfunded and toothless, allowing factory owners to operate with impunity as thousands were laid off illegally, denied benefits, and silenced when they protested.

Unionization was stifled, particularly in Export Processing Zones, where rights existed only on paper, and “social audits” became nothing more than PR rituals for global brands. Worker unrest exploded repeatedly, from delayed Eid allowances to unpaid salaries and unsafe conditions, yet the government responded with empty press briefings and tokenistic committees.

The much-touted October 2025 labour law reform deadline became a symbol of inertia, tangled in corporate resistance and bureaucratic gamesmanship. The past year has laid bare a bitter truth: under Yunus’s leadership, labour rights were not defended — they were traded off, delayed, and dismissed, leaving workers to fight alone against a system designed to exploit them.

From Savior Icon to Enabler of Decay

Mohammad Yunus once embodied a hopeful alternative—microcredit, grassroots empowerment, moral leadership. Yet under his interim leadership, Bangladesh is unravelling in every direction: economic collapse, mob justice, sexual violence, extrajudicial killings, rivers flooded with corpses, and institutional impotence. From Teachers to slums, the elites to poets all have suffered under the Yunus’ reign of Terror. 

Yunus may not have physically ordered every atrocity, but he now presides over a regime that normalized them. His Nobel halo cannot conceal the inferno beneath. Rebuilding a nation demands more than symbolic leadership—it demands justice, accountability, and courage. Today, Bangladesh has none. Yunus had the opportunity to unite the nation and develop a social contract among the political parties. Instead what Yunus has contributed had cemented a pipeline for cycle of violence to multiply in the future. 

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not reflect Milli Chronicle’s point-of-view.

The administration confirmed that $18 billion in transit investments and $8 billion in clean-energy projects will undergo review to ensure maximum value for taxpayers. Officials emphasized that the move is part of a careful reassessment of programs, reflecting a proactive approach to strengthening the U.S. economy and safeguarding federal resources.

President Donald Trump highlighted the savings potential, stating on Truth Social that “billions of dollars can be saved,” as part of a drive to modernize the $7 trillion federal budget.

Vice President JD Vance reinforced that the administration’s approach is forward-looking, designed to streamline operations and prevent unnecessary expenditure during the current government shutdown. He emphasized that the U.S. remains committed to national security, border protection, and essential services, even as non-essential programs are temporarily paused.

Despite the shutdown, critical services continue without interruption. The Department of Veterans Affairs has ensured dignified services for military families, while border agents and armed forces continue their duties, demonstrating resilience and commitment.

Officials note that this marks the 15th federal funding pause since 1981, but this time, the White House aims to turn the challenge into an opportunity for reform. By prioritizing financial discipline, leaders believe the U.S. can set a stronger foundation for economic stability, infrastructure renewal, and energy innovation once budgets are reactivated.

Republican leaders in the Senate also expressed optimism that bipartisan cooperation could emerge from the situation, with discussions already underway to chart a sustainable path forward. Observers say the emphasis on accountability and strategic redirection could pave the way for more effective public spending in the years ahead.

The administration views this moment as a reset — a chance to reinforce financial discipline, reduce inefficiencies, and deliver a leaner, future-ready federal system. Supporters argue that these steps will position the United States for stronger growth, innovation, and global leadership in the coming decade.