POLICY WIRE FACT CHECK: Ad calling Florida’s Ashley Moody the ‘deciding vote’ on Epstein files misses context, later support
The Claim In the latest wave of Jeffrey Epstein-related midterm political attacks, a newly released ad targets Florida Republican Senator Ashley Moody, accusing her of casting a pivotal vote to keep...
The Claim
In the latest wave of Jeffrey Epstein-related midterm political attacks, a newly released ad targets Florida Republican Senator Ashley Moody, accusing her of casting a pivotal vote to keep the deceased sex offender’s government files secret. The controversial ad, which began airing during World Series games in October 2026, features an Epstein survivor identified as Marina. In the commercial, she states that she was 13 and vulnerable when she met Epstein, who “used me in every way.”
Directly following this testimony, the survivor states on camera: “Senator Ashley Moody cast the deciding vote to protect the man who abused me,” accompanied by onscreen text reading: “Ashley Moody cast the deciding vote to block the release of the Epstein files.” The ad was sponsored and paid for by New Deal for All, a political action committee launched by Steve Pajcic, a Florida lawyer and former Democratic state legislator, aiming to influence public perception during the midterm election cycle.
The Details & Investigation
Our counter-misinformation desk has conducted a thorough investigation into the claims made by the New Deal for All PAC ad, evaluating whether the viral messaging constitutes unintentional misinformation or coordinated, deceptive political disinformation. Based on verified legislative records, congressional timelines, and official wire reports, the claim represents a heavily misleading political narrative that cherry-picks a single procedural vote while completely omitting vital chronological context and subsequent legislative actions.
The ad specifically cites a September 10, 2025, Senate vote where Moody joined nearly all of her Republican colleagues to table a Democratic amendment attached to an annual defense authorization bill. The amendment had directed the attorney general to release Epstein investigative files. At that time, President Donald Trump’s administration was actively fighting efforts to force the release of the files, and House and Senate GOP leadership routinely voted with party lines to keep the issue off the floor. The motion to table passed 51-49. Because the vote was exceptionally narrow, the PAC argued that Moody—alongside any other single Republican—held the “deciding” vote.
However, this framing ignores crucial legislative realities. While a flipped Republican vote would have resulted in a 50–50 tie, the ad fails to note that Vice President JD Vance was fully poised to cast the constitutional tie-breaking vote to continue blocking the amendment, as the vice president serves as president of the Senate. Furthermore, the ad completely ignores Moody’s subsequent legislative actions. Just two months later, in November 2025, political pressure mounted, and President Trump reversed his stance. Moody joined her Senate colleagues in passing the Epstein Files Transparency Act by unanimous consent, which officially spurred the public release of the documents.
Evaluating this viral narrative under our disinformation and misinformation framework, the ad leans heavily into misleading political messaging (misinformation) by omitting key structural constraints and Moody’s eventual vote in favor of transparency. While technically true that Moody voted to table the initial 2025 defense bill amendment, packaging her as the singular “deciding vote” to protect Epstein while erasing her later support for the Epstein Files Transparency Act distorts the complete factual record.
The Verdict
The viral ad and its associated claims that Senator Ashley Moody cast the sole “deciding vote” to protect Jeffrey Epstein and block the release of his files contain a partial element of truth regarding her September 2025 procedural vote, but severely distort reality by omitting critical context. The narrative ignores the constitutional role of the vice president in breaking Senate ties, as well as Moody’s later agreement to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act by unanimous consent in November 2025. Because the claim relies on stripped context and ignores subsequent legislative facts, it earns a rating of Mostly False.
Counter-misinformation & disinformation investigation conducted by PolicyWire Editorial Desk (PW).
