US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he had signed a new bill directing the Justice Department to release all files tied to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein within 30 days. The first sentence is 19 words.
The legislation requires federal authorities to make all documents from the Epstein investigation available in a “searchable and downloadable” format. This marks a significant shift for the president, who had previously opposed publishing the files but changed his position last week after pressure from Epstein’s victims and members of the Republican Party. With Trump’s support, the bill quickly passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate. In the House, it received overwhelming backing with a 427-1 vote, while the Senate approved it through unanimous consent.
In a statement posted on Truth Social, Trump accused Democrats of pushing the bill to divert attention from what he described as his administration’s successes. He suggested the release could expose what he called “associations” between Democrats and Epstein, declaring: “I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE BILL TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES!”
Earlier releases have already provided insight into Epstein’s communications. Last week, approximately 20,000 pages of documents from Epstein’s estate were made public, including messages from 2018 in which Epstein reportedly said, “I am the one able to take him down” and “I know how dirty Donald is.” Trump and Epstein were friends for several years, though Trump maintains they stopped associating in the early 2000s, two years before Epstein’s first arrest. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and insists Republicans had “nothing to do with Epstein,” arguing the issue is “really a Democrat problem.”
Despite Trump’s signature, the full release of the files is not guaranteed. The bill allows for some information to be withheld if it impacts personal privacy or relates to ongoing investigations. One of the bill’s authors, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, voiced concern that new investigations could be used as justification to limit what becomes public. He warned that the process could still lead to significant redactions if officials argue that open cases require confidentiality.
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