Trump Signs Bill Releasing Epstein Files, Pledges ‘Maximum Transparency’

US President Donald Trump has signed a long-anticipated bill ordering the release of government files tied to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, promising “maximum transparency” after years of speculation about Epstein’s connections to the world’s political and business elite.

Trump announced the move on his social media platform late Wednesday, ending months of pressure on his administration to act. The Epstein Files Transparency Act, which passed Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support, requires the Department of Justice to publish all unclassified records related to Epstein’s crimes in a “searchable and downloadable format” within 30 days.

The law allows authorities to withhold child exploitation material and victims’ personal details, as well as any data that could compromise active investigations or national security. But it explicitly forbids withholding records “on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the administration would “follow the law” and “encourage maximum transparency.”

While thousands of Epstein-related files have already been released, officials estimate roughly 100,000 pages remain sealed. The new legislation effectively compels their disclosure, barring limited exceptions.

Trump, who had long resisted calls for full transparency, portrayed the release as a political win for his party, framing Epstein as a Democratic liability.

Writing on Truth Social, he declared:

“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!”

He singled out former President Bill Clinton and ex-Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, who recently took a leave from Harvard amid scrutiny over his ties to Epstein. Neither has been accused of criminal wrongdoing.

Epstein’s vast network, which spanned finance, academia, and politics across party lines, has long been the subject of conspiracy theories. Trump himself was friendly with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, and his name appears in previously released correspondence. One 2011 email showed Epstein telling Ghislaine Maxwell that Trump had “spent hours” at his home with a trafficking victim, a claim Trump denies.

Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, a death ruled a suicide.

Critics remain skeptical that the administration will follow through. Democratic Senator Adam Schiff told MS Now he was “not at all confident” the law would be implemented as written.