President Donald Trump has signed legislation requiring his administration to release files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, reversing months of resistance as political pressure mounted from within his own party.
Trump had the authority to release many of the documents earlier, but declined to do so.
"Democrats have used the ‘Epstein’ issue, which affects them far more than the Republican Party, in order to try and distract from our AMAZING Victories," Trump said in a social media post announcing he had signed the bill.
The legislation directs the Justice Department to release all files and communications related to Epstein, as well as information about the investigation into his death in federal custody in 2019, within 30 days.
Redactions are permitted to protect victims or for ongoing investigations, but the department cannot withhold information due to "embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity."
The move represented a significant shift for what began as a fringe effort led by an unusual bipartisan coalition of Democrats, one Republican critical of Trump, and a small group of former Trump loyalists.
As recently as last week, the Trump administration summoned one of the bill’s Republican supporters, Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado, to the Situation Room to discuss the matter.
She ultimately maintained her support.
Approval after repeated rejection
Over the weekend, Trump abruptly changed course once it became clear that congressional action was unavoidable.
He said the Epstein issue had become a distraction from the Republican legislative agenda.
"I just don’t want Republicans to take their eyes off all of the Victories that we’ve had," he wrote in a social media post on Tuesday, explaining his reversal.
The House passed the legislation 427–1, with Representative Clay Higgins of Louisiana casting the sole vote against it.
He argued the bill might expose information about individuals not implicated in wrongdoing.
The Senate later approved the measure unanimously, forgoing a formal roll-call vote.
Trump had long been acquainted with Epstein, the disgraced financier with ties to political, business and social elites.
The president has said he did not know of Epstein’s crimes and had severed ties with him years earlier.
Before Trump returned to the White House for a second term, some of his closest political allies promoted conspiracy theories about the government’s handling of the Epstein case, suggesting a cover-up of potentially damaging information contained in the files.
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Source: TRT