“We have nothing to hide”, President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social as he urged House Republicans to back the release of files related to the late pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Yet even though the president swivelled a stunning 180 degrees last weekend to reverse his previous position on the release of the files, and has said he has signed the bill, which was passed almost unanimously on Tuesday, it remains unclear precisely what the public will see.
The bill requires Attorney General Pam Bondi to release all materials, including internal communications as well as investigative materials, related to Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, within 30 days of the law being enacted.
But the bill also sets out essential clauses governing what can eventually be released into the public domain.
The enormous cache of documents, of which 20,000 pages were already released last week, is said to include witness statements, as well as electronic and physical evidence gathered by federal agents and prosecutors during two major investigations into Epstein.
This includes 40 computers and other electronic devices, 26 storage drives, over 70 CDs, and six recording devices – which together hold more than 300 gigabytes of data, according to the Justice Department.
A further 60 pieces of physical evidence include hard copies of photographs, pages of handwritten notes, employee lists, and travel logs – which could reveal who visited Epstein and when.
Included within this cache is “a large volume of images of Epstein, images and videos of victims who are either minors or appear to be minors, and over ten thousand downloaded videos and images of illegal child sex abuse material and other pornography,” the DOJ said.
Trump had long dismissed the files as a political distraction and accused the Democrats of pushing a “hoax”. But simmering voter outrage has piled pressure onto politicians to act, forcing a rift between Trump and some allies in Congress.
Now, there are concerns that the bill’s wording will allow Bondi to redact specific passages, names, and details.
Her ability to do this is limited to specific areas of concern, including documents that “would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution,” as well as items that “contain personally identifiable information” about victims, which would “constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”
“Child sexual abuse materials” and images related to “death, physical abuse, or injury”, can – and are expected to be – redacted under the terms of the bill.
For any redacted or withheld evidence, the DOJ is required to provide a written justification within 15 days of its public release.
However, the bill also stipulates that “no record shall be withheld, delayed, or redacted based on embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.”
The bill’s redaction allowances for elements related to an “active investigation” could include those named by the president when the first 20,000-page trove of evidence was released last week, as Trump ordered an investigation into top Democrats.
Trump singled out Democratic politicians and donors mentioned in the documents’ email exchanges, including former President Bill Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and venture capitalist Reid Hoffman, TheNew York Timesreported.
“This is another Russia, Russia, Russia Scam, with all arrows pointing to the Democrats,” Trump wrote on social media on Friday. “Records show that these men, and many others, spent large portions of their life with Epstein, and on his ‘Island.’ Stay tuned!!!”
Despite Trump signing the bill, Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin said he believes there is a risk Trump will “play games” with the files.
“For months, Donald Trump and his White House have done everything in their power to defy and deceive the American people and keep the Epstein Files buried. Now – as his approval ratings plummet to the lowest level of this term – he’s suddenly had a ‘change of heart.’ But we can see where this is headed: He’s already threatening to play games with the files that are released and those that are withheld,” Martin said.
How the House vote on release of the Epstein files came about
While the 427-1 vote – with five members not voting – suggests a unified desire among US politicians to release the files, the path to it was anything but.
Trump’s spectacular U-turn came days after a petition to hold a vote on the release of documents and evidence held by the Department of Justice gained enough support to move forward.
Until last weekend, the vote had been backed mainly by Democrats, who Trump accused of fueling a “hoax”. But some Republicans had also pushed for complete transparency after months of speculation and delay.
Many of Trump’s most loyal supporters believe the government is withholding sensitive documents about Epstein that would reveal the late financier’s ties to influential public figures.
Trump, late on Friday, withdrew his support for Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, long one of his staunchest supporters in Congress, following her criticism of Republicans on specific issues, including the handling of the Epstein files.
Amid growing bipartisan pressure, House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson eventually said he would hold a House vote to “take that weapon out of [the Democrats’] hands”.
Under pressure, Trump’s volte-face saw him switch from batting the issue away to suddenly urging Republicans to pass the measure and saying he would sign it if it also passed in the Senate.
In the gallery of the House, many of Epstein’s survivors gathered and watched the final tally. When it passed, the floor erupted into applause.
The next day, Trump announced he had signed the bill.
“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!” the president wrote.
“At my direction, the Department of Justice has already turned over close to fifty thousand pages of documents to Congress. Do not forget — The Biden Administration did not turn over a SINGLE file or page related to Democrat Epstein, nor did they ever even speak about him,” he added.
Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.
MAGA divided
During his election campaign, Trump had promised to release the files. The circumstances around Epstein’s death – he took his own life in prison while awaiting trial – and the wide-reaching array of high-profile names implicated have fuelled speculation and conspiracy around the case.
What has been released so far has not been deemed sufficient by campaigners and politicians. Trump’s MAGA base had long been split over whether to back the President’s claim that the files are a Democrat-inspired “hoax” or demand their release.
An FBI memo concluding there was no “client list” did not help the rift, nor ambiguities around surveillance footage from a camera near Epstein’s prison cell the night before he was found dead.
Trump’s loyalist base is not easily moved. But how the Epstein files are now delivered to the public is a major political operation that Trump will want to control carefully, given the high risk of widening fissures between the president and key elements of his party.
