Has Trump opened a can of worms by signing the Epstein files’ release order?

In a political plot twist, US President Donald Trump has signed into law the Epstein Files Transparency Act , compelling the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to publish a trove of documents tied to Jeffrey Epstein.

What once appeared a quixotic push for “maximum transparency” now carries the weight of political theatre, and potentially long-term risk to Trump himself.

How Trump went from resistance to signing it

Until recently, Trump had actively resisted the release.

The bill, which passed the House with a nearly unanimous 427–1 vote, and the Senate via unanimous consent, forced his hand. Having initially attacked the measure as part of a “Democrat hoax,” Trump now frames his signature as a bold expose: he claims the files will reveal “the truth about certain Democrats and their associations with Jeffrey Epstein.”

“Perhaps the truth about these Democrats, and their associations with Jeffrey Epstein, will soon be revealed, because I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE BILL TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES! As everyone knows, I asked Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, to pass this Bill in the House and Senate, respectively. Because of this request, the votes were almost unanimous in favor of passage,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Looks a lot like a calculated political shift.

Facing overwhelming bipartisan pressure—including from within his own party—Trump opted for public acquiescence rather than a prolonged battle, even as he seeks to cast the issue as disproportionately harmful to Democrats.

The law’s promise and its loopholes

Under the new law, the DOJ has 30 days to release the documents. But real transparency may be more complicated than it appears.

While the bill forbids withholding material on the basis of “embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity,” it does allow redactions.

Specifically, exemptions remain for content involving victims’ identities or ongoing investigations. Adding to the complexity, Trump’s own administration recently launched a DOJ probe into Epstein’s connections with several high-profile Democrats—a move critics warn could be used to justify withholding certain documents.

A battle between optics and accountability

There is no denying that this is a politically charged moment.

Trump’s narrative-driven reframing—positioning Epstein as deeply linked to Democrats—raises the possibility that his support for the law is less about confronting his own associations, and more about scoring political points.

At the same time, some analysts caution that even if the full spectrum of documents doesn’t emerge, whatever does surface could still expose plenty of embarrassing—though not criminal—behaviour by public figures. That could damage reputations and shift public perception, even if it doesn’t lead to prosecutions.

Moreover, skeptics question whether the documentary dump will ultimately be meaningful. Without strong enforcement mechanisms, the DOJ might still delay or obscure parts of the trove, especially if they involve sensitive material.

Trump’s turn under the hammer?

For Trump, this move is a bit of a double-edged gamble.

On the one hand, there’s the backfire risk. If the files end up revealing anything that even loosely ties back to him, all those years of distancing himself from Epstein could come right back around. It wouldn’t take much for old questions to resurface in a big way.

Then there’s the credibility risk. If this big promise of transparency ends up buried under heavy redactions or delayed releases, people are going to call him out fast. It’ll look less like honesty and more like an attempt to manage the optics and keep the narrative on his terms.

So, at the end of the day, signing this bill feels less like a grand gesture and more like a strategic move. But now that the 30-day countdown is on, Trump’s essentially waiting to see what lands.