US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he had signed legislation directing the release of all files connected to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The bill mandates the justice department to publish all information from its Epstein probe “in a searchable and downloadable format” within 30 days.
Although Trump had previously resisted releasing the files, he reversed his stance last week following pressure from Epstein’s victims and several members of his own Republican Party.
With Trump’s backing, the legislation swiftly passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate on Tuesday.
Posting on Truth Social on Wednesday, the president claimed Democrats were focusing on this matter to draw attention away from his administration’s accomplishments.
“Perhaps the truth about these Democrats, and their associations with Jeffrey Epstein, will soon be revealed, because I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE BILL TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES!” he wrote.
A congressional vote was not required for the release, as Trump could have ordered it independently. However, lawmakers in the House still approved the bill with a 427–1 vote, and the Senate followed with unanimous consent, sending the legislation to Trump for his signature.
The Epstein files included in the bill’s release cover criminal investigation materials, such as interview transcripts with victims and witnesses, as well as items seized during property raids.
These records consist of internal justice department communications, flight logs, and names of individuals and entities linked to Epstein.
These files differ from the more than 20,000 pages of documents from Epstein’s estate that Congress made public last week, some of which mention Trump directly.
Among them are 2018 messages from Epstein, in which he wrote of Trump: “I am the one able to take him down” and “I know how dirty donald is”.
Trump was acquainted with Epstein for several years, though he has said their relationship ended in the early 2000s, two years before Epstein’s first arrest. The president has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing involving Epstein.
Speaking to reporters on Monday night, Trump insisted Republicans had “nothing to do with Epstein”.
“It’s really a Democrat problem,” he said. “The Democrats were Epstein’s friends, all of them.”
Epstein was found dead in his New York prison cell in 2019, in what the coroner ruled a suicide. At the time, he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
He had previously been convicted in 2008 of soliciting prostitution from a minor.
The once high-profile financier was connected to several prominent individuals, including Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, the former prince and brother of King Charles, Trump, Trump’s former advisor Steve Bannon, and various figures from media, politics, and entertainment.
On Wednesday, former Harvard president Larry Summers took leave from his teaching duties while the university examined his association with Epstein, following the release of friendly email exchanges between the two.
Attorney General Pam Bondi is obligated to disclose “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” related to Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell within 30 days of the law taking effect. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.
However, according to the law’s wording, segments may still be withheld if releasing them would violate personal privacy or relate to an ongoing investigation.
The legislation grants Bondi authority to withhold any material that could compromise active federal inquiries or reveal the identities of victims.
One of the bill’s authors, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, expressed concern that certain files might remain concealed.
“I’m concerned that [Trump is] opening a flurry of investigations, and I believe they may be trying to use those investigations as a predicate for not releasing the files. That’s my concern,” he said.
