Trump Signs Bill Ordering Release Of Epstein Files

President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act on Wednesday, requiring Attorney General Pam Bondi to release all relevant unclassified Department of Justice (DOJ) records.

The process gained momentum after 218 members of Congress signed on a Nov. 12 motion to vacate allowing the House to release files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. After months of insisting that the attempt to release the Epstein files was a Democratic hoax, Trump reversed course on Sunday in a TruthSocial post urging House Republicans to vote for the legislation. (RELATED: Trump to Order DOJ to Investigate Epstein's Ties to Bill Clinton and Big Banks)

Legislation past The House of Representatives on Tuesday and the Senate formally passed the legislation on Wednesday.

The new law requires all unclassified documents from the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Attorney's Offices to be made available to the public in a searchable and downloadable format.

The law also gives the Attorney General the power to restrain or edit material related to child sexual abuse material (CSAM), death, or physical violence; personal information of alleged victims; and information that could jeopardize active investigations, prosecutions, international affairs, or national defense.

Many have speculated about why Trump changed his mind about releasing the files. Two White House officials said Daily Caller, the president's main concern was not the release of the files, but the chance for Democrats like Rep. Ro Khanna to use the issue against him with the help of Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie.

One White House official told the Caller that the president decided to push Republicans to vote for the bill because he had nothing to hide and did not want the situation to appear otherwise. A second White House official underscored that point, pointing to the president's comments Monday regarding his administration's transparency and his desire to address underlying issues.

“His objection had nothing to do with transparency,” the official said.

“He believed that Democrats were using the House vote as a weapon against him to distract from the many victories the administration had achieved. There was no change in his overall position; he was calling for transparency long before Democrats were even interested in the issue,” the official told the publication.

Another White House official denied any speculation that Trump's TruthSocial post was simply a concession as it became clear the petition would pass the House by a significant margin. The official noted the White House's work with the Oversight Committee to turn over more than 33,000 documents as evidence that the president wants to help release Epstein's files.

The controversy surrounding the Epstein files has dragged on for months. This started in July after Axios published Justice Department and FBI memo saying their investigation found no evidence that Epstein had a “client list” or that he was killed in prison.

The memo came as an abrupt end to the investigation after Bondi admitted earlier in 2025 that she had been looking at a “client list” and a group of MAGA influencers on social media. received “Phase 1” folder with Epstein files, many of which did not contain any new sensations or were previously released.

Administration representatives released caller at the time, explaining that they were disappointed with how the situation was handled. Sources blamed the Justice Department for bungling and exaggerating the level of evidence they had to gather to investigate Epstein's alleged child trafficking ring.

As the debate over the release of Epstein's files dragged on, Trump repeatedly called the situation a “hoax” as more Democrats used it to attack the administration's alleged lack of transparency and alleged betrayal of the MAGA base.