Trump signs bill to release Justice Department’s Epstein files

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed a bill Wednesday to force the Justice Department to release records related to Jeffrey Epstein, capping a months-long bipartisan congressional campaign that initially faced resistance from the president and sparked sharp divisions within the Republican Party.

Trump previously said he would sign the measure, while continuing to call the largely Democratic-led campaign to release the files a “hoax.”

In announcing the bill’s signing on Truth Social, Trump further attacked Democrats, repeating his characterization of it as a “hoax” and arguing that they were seeking to “try to distract” from his administration’s accomplishments.

The House overwhelmingly supported passage of the bill Tuesday, with only Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., voting against the legislation. Later in the day, the Senate agreed to send the measure to Trump by unanimous consent, which it did on Wednesday.

The bill requires Attorney General Pam Bondi to disclose all unclassified documents related to Epstein within 30 days. The law allows Bondi to withhold or delete information that could compromise a federal investigation.

Last week, Bondi agreed to the president’s request that his department investigate Epstein’s ties to Democrats and others. In his Truth Social post on Wednesday evening, Trump referenced the effort, writing: “Perhaps the truth about these Democrats and their associations with Jeffrey Epstein will soon be revealed.” »

The Justice Department previously said it “did not uncover evidence that could support an investigation against unindicted third parties.” Asked at a news conference Wednesday what had changed, she said “new information, additional information” but did not elaborate.

The Epstein files and the president’s handling of the controversy have sparked rare disunity among congressional Republicans and Trump supporters. The legislation was co-led by Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and garnered vocal support from Democrats and several Republican lawmakers, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has had a public spat with Trump.

On Sunday, Trump reversed his long-standing opposition to the legislative effort and called on House Republicans to support the bill, saying, “we have nothing to hide.” He nevertheless continued to call the scandal a “hoax” perpetrated by Democrats.

On Tuesday, supporters of the legislation and Epstein survivors held a news conference at the Capitol to urge lawmakers to support the release of the records. Some of the survivors directly criticized the president, with one, Jena-Lisa Jones, urging him to “please stop making this political.”

The Epstein files were thrust into the spotlight last week when Republicans on the House Oversight Committee released more than 20,000 pages of documents about the Epstein estate after Democratic lawmakers released emails from Epstein referencing Trump.

In one of the emails, Epstein claimed in 2019 that Trump “knew about the girls,” but he did not accuse Trump of any wrongdoing. In another 2011 email, Epstein called Trump “that dog that didn’t bark” and said the now-president “spent hours” at Epstein’s home with a redacted name referred to as a “victim.”

Trump has always denied any involvement in Epstein’s crimes.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to the emails during a press briefing, saying the emails “prove absolutely nothing other than that President Trump did nothing wrong.”

Trump was friends with Epstein in the 1980s and 1990s, but fell out with him in the early 2000s, accusing Epstein of hiring young female employees at his resort’s spa. Trump said he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago. The White House maintained that Trump kicked Epstein out of his club “because he was a bad guy.”

Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to Florida state charges of soliciting prostitution from a minor. He committed suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.