President Donald Trump said he signed the bill to release the Justice Department’s files on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, capping a dramatic reversal on an issue he had tried to make go away. In a Truth Social post Wednesday night, the president said, “I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE BILL TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES!”
Trump signed the bill after Congress overwhelmingly approved it the evening before.
It marks a significant defeat for a president who has held immense sway over members of his party. Trump has long sought to distance himself from his relationship with Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial.
Trump repeatedly dismissed the Epstein files controversy as a hoax perpetrated by Democrats to besmirch him, and he had lobbied hard against the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
But enough Republicans had coalesced behind the bill — under loud demands from their MAGA constituents — that its long-stalled passage in the House became inevitable.
Trump failed to steer enough House Republicans away from the vote, and he ultimately caved and announced his reluctant support for it over the weekend.
“House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide,” he wrote in a Truth Social post on Sunday. “Let’s start talking about the Republican Party’s Record Setting Achievements, and not fall into the Epstein ‘TRAP,’ which is actually a curse on the Democrats, not us.” Just hours after the bill sailed through the House, the Senate approved it by unanimous consent. Despite the bill’s speedy passage, whether or not the Justice Department will release all the files related to its investigation into Epstein remains an open question. Trump directed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi last week to investigate Epstein’s ties to Democrats, a move that could allow the Justice Department to withhold some documents. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.
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