Epstein files: Trump approves the release of Justice Department material on sex offender but loopholes remain

Relenting to pressure from his base, President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced on social media that he signed legislation calling on the Justice Department to release its files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein within 30 days.

Mr Trump’s signature does not guarantee the release of all the files. The bill contains significant exceptions, including a provision protecting continuing investigations, which could mean many documents would stay confidential.

In a lengthy announcement on Truth Social, Mr Trump focused on Democrats who were connected to Epstein and said the furore over the documents was a distraction to hurt his administration. “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,” he wrote.

In his post, the US President sought to portray the bill’s passage as the result of a directive to his party. “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,” Mr Trump said. “Because of this request, the votes were almost unanimous.”

But, in fact, his call for Republicans to approve the measure came only after it became clear Mr Trump had lost a political battle on the issue. Against Trump’s wishes, House Democrats and a few Republicans joined together to force a vote on the bill, making it certain to pass.

Maria Farmer, the first abuse survivor to report Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell to law enforcement in 1996, hailed the development.

“After being left in the dark for decades, having my repeated calls for transparency and action ignored, and living through nearly five administrations that turned a blind eye to this enormous travesty of justice, Congress finally listened to survivors,” Ms Farmer said in a statement.

The White House has maintained that it has already made public tens of thousands of pages of documents tied to the Epstein investigation and that nothing will satisfy Mr Trump’s critics.

For years, the allegations of sexual abuse against Epstein — and his close connections to the rich and powerful, including Trump — have fuelled a desire for the release of more documents about his case to expose any other potential abusers.

By his own admission, Mr Trump was friendly for at least 15 years with Epstein. A multimillionaire financier and convicted sex offender, Epstein was found hanged in his cell in August 2019 as he awaited trial; his death was ruled a suicide.

Mr Trump has emphatically denied any involvement in or knowledge of Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation and said the men broke off contact years ago. He has said his dispute with Epstein stemmed from times the financier “stole” spa attendants at Mar-a-Lago by hiring them away.

On Tuesday, Mr Trump called Epstein a “sick pervert.”

The Senate approved the legislation Wednesday that demands the Justice Department release more of the Epstein files, a day after the legislation passed overwhelmingly in the House.

The bill contains several exceptions that are similar to the reasons Attorney General Pam Bondi initially withheld most of the files, a decision that caused an uproar among those who believed they were about to see a fuller picture of the case.

Under the legislation, the Trump administration may withhold records that identify victims or include images of child sexual abuse, or are otherwise classified. The legislation also allows records to be withheld if they would jeopardize an active federal investigation.

The Justice Department has already said the files it withheld contained images of victims, downloaded videos of child sex abuse or materials that had been ordered sealed by a court.

Moreover, Mr Trump demanded last week that the Justice Department open an investigation into Democrats mentioned in some of the emails turned over by the Epstein estate. Ms Bondi quickly said she had started the investigation, which could give the administration another reason to withhold documents.

A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on whether officials would use that investigation as a reason to decline to release additional documents.

On Wednesday, Ms Bondi skirted questions about her plans to comply with the bill. Ms Bondi, speaking at department headquarters, vowed to “follow the law” and protect the Epstein victims. She promised to be transparent if more material was released.

She said that “new information” obtained by investigators had prompted her to reverse her decision to close the case four months ago, but she declined to say what that information was.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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