Trump signs bill to release Epstein files, DoJ has 30 days to make them public

US President Donald Trump announced on late Wednesday evening that he had signed the bill ordering the release of the infamous Epstein Files. The bill passed by Congress earlier requires the US Department of Justice to release all information from its investigation of the wrongdoing of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein “in a searchable and downloadable format” within 30 days.

In the past, Trump has opposed releasing the files, but swiftly changed his stance last week after pushback from Epstein’s victims and members of his own Republican party. The legislation was overwhelmingly cleared from both chambers of the US Congress by Tuesday.

While lawmakers in the House passed the legislation with a 427-1 vote, the S enate soon gave unanimous consent to pass it upon its arrival. The commotion came after some 20,000 pages of documents from Epstein’s estate, including some that directly mention Trump, were released last week.

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The documents included 2018 messages from Epstein in which he said of Trump: “I am the one able to take him down” and “I know how dirty Donald is”. It is pertient to note that the American leader was a friend of Epstein for years. However, Trump claimed that they fell out in the early 2000s, two years before Epstein was first arrested.

There’s a catch

It is important to note that despite Trump’s signature, the release of the full Epstein files is not guaranteed. Based on the bill’s text, portions could still be withheld if they invade personal privacy or relate to an active investigation. One of the bill’s architects, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, said he had concerns about some files being withheld.

“I’m concerned that [Trump is] opening a flurry of investigations, and I believe they may be trying to use those investigations as a predicate for not releasing the files. That’s my concern,” he said. On Monday, Trump attempted to distance himself from the files, insisting that Democrats will ultimately be in the problem.

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Speaking to reporters on Monday night, Trump said Republicans had “nothing to do with Epstein”. “It’s really a Democrat problem,” he said. “The Democrats were Epstein’s friends, all of them.” While the DoJ has earlier maintained that it will be able to release the Epstein Files within 30 days, it remains unclear whether the agency will be transparent about Trump’s name in the document.