Today November 20, 2025, 01:28 AM
Today November 20, 2025, 01:28 AM
By SEUNG MIN KIM
WASHINGTON (AP) â President Donald Trump signed legislation Wednesday that compels his administration to release files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, bowing to political pressure from his own party after initially resisting those efforts.
Trump could have chosen to release many of the files on his own months ago.
âDemocrats have used the âEpsteinâ issue, which affects them far more than the Republican Party, in order to try and distract from our AMAZING Victories,â Trump said in a social media post as he announced he had signed the bill.
Now, the bill requires the Justice Department to release all files and communications related to Epstein, as well as any information about the investigation into his death in a federal prison in 2019, within 30 days. It allows for redactions about Epsteinâs victims for ongoing federal investigations, but DOJ cannot withhold information due to âembarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity.â
But over the weekend, Trump did a sharp U-turn on the files once it became clear that congressional action was inevitable. He insisted the Epstein matter had become a distraction to the GOP agenda and indicated he wanted to move on.
âI just donât want Republicans to take their eyes off all of the Victories that weâve had,â Trump said in a social media post Tuesday afternoon, explaining the rationale for his abrupt about-face.
The House passed the legislation on a 427-1 vote, with Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., being the sole dissenter. He argued that the billâs language could lead to the release of information on innocent people mentioned in the federal investigation. The Senate later approved it unanimously, skipping a formal vote.
Itâs long been established that Trump had been friends with Epstein, the disgraced financier who was close to the worldâs elite. But the president has consistently said he did not know of Epsteinâs crimes and had cut ties with him long ago.
Before Trump returned to the White House for a second term, some of his closest political allies helped fuel conspiracy theories about the governmentâs handling of the Epstein case, asserting a cover-up of potentially incriminating information in those files.
