United States President, Donald Trump, on Wednesday announced that he has signed a new bill mandating the public release of all files connected to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Under the legislation, the Justice Department must publish every document from its Epstein probe “in a searchable and downloadable format” within 30 days.
Trump, who had initially resisted making the files public, shifted his stance last week after pressure mounted from Epstein’s victims and members of the Republican Party. Following this change, the bill sailed through both chambers of Congress on Tuesday with overwhelming bipartisan support.
In a message posted to Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump accused Democrats of trying to use the issue to divert attention from his administration’s accomplishments, writing: “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!”
Although Trump could have ordered the release independently, the House still approved the measure by a 427–1 vote, after which the Senate passed it by unanimous consent.
The records set for release include documents from criminal investigations into Epstein, such as victim and witness interviews, items seized from his properties, internal Justice Department correspondence, flight manifests, and names of individuals or entities linked to him.
These materials differ from the more than 20,000 pages from Epstein’s estate that lawmakers made public last week, which featured several references to Trump. Among them were 2018 messages in which Epstein wrote: “I am the one able to take him down” and “I know how dirty donald is.”
Trump, who had been acquainted with Epstein for years, has maintained that they severed ties in the early 2000s—two years before Epstein’s first arrest—and has repeatedly denied any misconduct. Speaking to reporters Monday night, he claimed Republicans had “nothing to do with Epstein,” adding: “It’s really a Democrat problem. The Democrats were Epstein’s friends, all of them.”
Epstein died in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, in what the coroner ruled a suicide. He had previously been convicted in 2008 for soliciting prostitution from a minor. His network included prominent figures across politics, media and entertainment, among them Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, Trump, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, and others.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, former Harvard president Larry Summers stepped away from teaching duties as the university opened an inquiry into his connections to Epstein, revealed through a series of friendly email exchanges.
Under the new law, Attorney General Pam Bondi must release “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” tied to Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell within 30 days. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.
However, the legislation still allows certain materials to be withheld if they compromise personal privacy or relate to ongoing investigations. Bondi also has discretion to block the release of information that could endanger active federal probes or expose victims’ identities.
One of the bill’s co-authors, Republican Representative Thomas Massie, voiced concern over the possibility of excessive redactions. “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.
