Share and Follow
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed a new law on Wednesday mandating the release of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender. This move comes after significant political pressure from within his own party, despite his initial reluctance.
The president had the option to disclose many of these documents earlier but chose not to. In a social media post, Trump commented on the situation, stating, “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,” as he confirmed signing the bill.
The legislation requires the Justice Department to make public all files and communications concerning Epstein, as well as details about the investigation into his 2019 death in federal prison, within 30 days. While protections are in place to redact information about Epstein’s victims in ongoing investigations, the DOJ is prohibited from withholding details due to “embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity.”
This development marks a surprising shift, originating from an unlikely alliance within Congress. This coalition included Democrats, a Republican critic of the president, and some former Trump supporters. As recently as last week, the Trump administration summoned Colorado Republican Representative Lauren Boebert, a proponent of releasing the files, to the Situation Room to discuss the issue. However, her stance remained unchanged.
It was a remarkable turn of events for what was once a farfetched effort to force the disclosure of case files from an odd congressional coalition of Democrats, one GOP antagonist of the president, and a handful of erstwhile Trump loyalists. As recently as last week, the Trump administration even summoned one Republican proponent of releasing the files, Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, to the Situation Room to discuss the matter, although she did not change her mind.
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.
“I just don’t want Republicans to take their eyes off all of the Victories that we’ve had,” 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 bill’s 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.
It’s long been established that Trump had been friends with Epstein, the disgraced financier who was close to the world’s elite. But the president has consistently said he did not know of Epstein’s 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 government’s handling of the Epstein case, asserting a cover-up of potentially incriminating information in those files.