Trump signs bill ordering release of Jeffrey Epstein files

US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that he has signed a bill mandating the release of all files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The bill would require the Justice Department to release all information about the Epstein investigation “in a searchable and downloadable format” within 30 days.

Trump had previously opposed releasing the files, but he reversed course last week after facing opposition from Epstein's victims and members of his own Republican Party.

With his support, the bill was overwhelmingly approved by both chambers of Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate, on Tuesday.

“Perhaps the truth about these Democrats and their connections to Jeffrey Epstein will soon be revealed because I JUST SIGNED THE EPSTEIN FILES RELEASE ACT!” he wrote.

Although the release of the files did not require a vote in Congress (Trump could order the release himself), lawmakers in the House passed the legislation by a vote of 427 to 1. The Senate unanimously agreed to pass it on arrival, sending the bill to Trump for his signature.

The Epstein files, which are required to be released under the law, consist of documents from criminal investigations into the financier, including transcripts of interviews with victims and witnesses, as well as items seized during searches of his properties. The material includes internal Justice Department communications, flight logs, and people and organizations associated with Epstein.

The files differ from the more than 20,000 pages of documents from Epstein's estate released by Congress last week, including some that directly mention Trump.

These included messages from Epstein in 2018 in which he said of Trump: “I am the one who has the power to bring him down” and “I know how dirty Donald is.”

Trump had been Epstein's friend for years, but the president said the two had a falling out in the early 2000s, two years before Epstein was first arrested. Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing against Epstein.

Speaking to reporters Monday night, Trump said Republicans “have nothing to do with Epstein.”

“This is really a Democratic problem,” he said. “All the Democrats were Epstein's friends.”

Virginia Giuffre's family, who died by suicide earlier this yearTrump signing the bill was “nothing short of monumental” for Giuffre and other survivors, the statement said.

“As we look to the next chapter, we remain vigilant. This work is not finished. Every name must be revealed, regardless of power, wealth or party affiliation,” said her brother and sister-in-law Skye and Amanda Roberts.

Epstein was found dead in 2019 in his New York City prison cell in what a coroner ruled was a suicide. He was being held on charges of sex trafficking. Previously, in 2008, he was convicted of forcing a minor into prostitution.

The once high-ranking financier had links to a number of famous figures, including Andrew Mountbatten of Windsor, brother of King Charles and a former prince; Trump; former Trump adviser Steve Bannon; and a number of other characters from the worlds of media, politics and entertainment.

On Wednesday, the former Harvard president Larry Summers took a vacation from teaching at the university while the school investigated his ties to Epstein, revealed in a series of friendly email exchanges.

Attorney General Pam Bondi is required to release “all unclassified records, documents, communications and investigative materials” related to Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell no later than 30 days after the law takes effect. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.

But based on the text of the law, parts can still be withheld if they are deemed to be an invasion of privacy or related to an active investigation.

The bill gives Bondi the power to withhold information that could jeopardize any active federal investigation or identify victims.

One of the bill's sponsors, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, expressed concern about the concealment of some files.

“I'm worried that [Trump is] start a series of investigations, and I believe that they may be trying to use these investigations as a predicate for not releasing the files. That's my concern,” he said.