Trump signs bill to compel release of more Epstein documents | Donald Trump

Donald Trump has signed a bill to force the Justice Department to release more records related to Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased child sex abuser.

“Jeffrey Epstein, who was indicted by the Trump Justice Department in 2019 (not the Democrats!), was a lifelong Democrat, donated thousands of dollars to Democratic politicians, and was deeply associated with many well-known Democratic figures, such as Bill Clinton (who flew 26 times), Larry Summers (who just resigned from numerous boards, including Harvard), political activist Sleazebag Reid Hoffman, Minority Leader Hakeem. Jeffries (who asked Epstein to donate to his campaign AFTER Epstein was indicted), Democratic Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett and many more. Perhaps the truth about these Democrats and their associations with Jeffrey Epstein will soon be revealed, because I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE DRAFT TO DELIVERY THE EPSTEIN FILES! ” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday evening.

Trump had fought against the disclosure of the Epstein files, calling the matter a “hoax” and lashing out at those who wanted to make the documents public, although he promised to make them public during the election campaign.

But he changed course in recent days after it became clear that the House of Representatives would pass legislation, saying that “we have nothing to hide” and that “it is time to turn the page on this Democratic hoax perpetrated by the crazies of the radical left in order to distract from the great success of the Republican Party, including our recent victory over the Democratic shutdown.”

After Trump indicated his approval of the bill, Republican holdouts quickly pushed it through the House and then the Senate. Mike Johnson had blocked the bill for months, and after the House passed it, the House speaker said he hoped the Senate would amend it, which it did not.

The Justice Department said earlier this year that it had released every possible document about Epstein without hindering investigations or revealing information about his victims.

“Much of the material is subject to court-ordered sealing,” a July Department of Justice memo said. “Only a fraction of this material would have been released publicly had Epstein gone to trial, as the seal served only to protect victims and did not expose any additional third parties to allegations of illegal wrongdoing.”

It is unclear what the department will release in response to the bill – the bill details a host of potential items that must be disclosed, but provides exceptions for certain documents.

The bill calls on the attorney general to make unclassified documents related to Epstein publicly available “in a searchable and downloadable format,” including all investigations into Epstein, his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, flight logs and travel records, individuals referenced or named in connection with his crimes, entities linked to his trafficking or financial networks, immunity agreements and other plea agreements, internal communications about charging decisions, documentation of his detention and death, and details on any file deletion.

The ministry will have 30 days to submit the documents. The bill provides some exceptions, including the removal of identifying information or personal records of victims, any depictions of child sexual abuse, disclosures that would jeopardize active investigations or prosecutions, and depictions of death or abuse.

Members of Congress released tens of thousands of documents that resurfaced and added depth to the relationships Epstein had with prominent figures, including Larry Summers, the former Treasury secretary, and Michael Wolff, the writer and Trump biographer.

Trump and Epstein were once friends, and Trump’s name appears in some of the documents released so far by members of Congress, although those mentions do not mean he was party to Epstein’s criminal activities.

Documents released by Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee included an email from Epstein to Wolff in which Epstein said of Trump: “Of course he knew about the girls when he asked Ghislaine to stop.” ” In another, he called Trump a “dog that didn’t bark.”

Epstein regularly sent emails about Trump, usually in a disparaging manner. “I’ve met some really bad people,” he wrote in an email. “None as bad as Trump. Not a single decent cell in his body.”