Trump signs bill to release Jeffrey Epstein investigation files

New Delhi, Nov 20: US President Donald Trump has signed a bill directing the Justice Department to release government files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The documents must be made public within 30 days, though information tied to active investigations or personal privacy may still be withheld. The legislation, strongly backed by both chambers of Congress, passed the House with a 427–1 vote and received unanimous approval in the Senate. Although Trump could have ordered the release without a congressional mandate, he had initially opposed publishing the files, calling it a “Democrat-led hoax,” before changing his stance last week after pressure from Epstein’s victims and members of his own party. In a post on X, Trump wrote: “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 files to be released include: Justice Department communications, interviews with victims and witnesses, items seized from Epstein’s properties, names of people and entities linked to him, flight logs.

These documents are separate from more than 20,000 pages released last week from Epstein’s estate, some of which mention Trump. Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting sex trafficking charges, had connections with several high-profile figures across politics, academia, media and entertainment. The family of Virginia Giuffre, an Epstein survivor who died by suicide earlier this year, called Trump’s decision “nothing short of monumental” and urged that “every name must be revealed, regardless of power, wealth, or party affiliation.”