In less than 48 hours, the US Department of Justice must release most of the files related to Jeffrey Epstein in its possession, under the Epstein Files Transparency Act signed into law by President Donald Trump last month. The legislation requires disclosure by 19 December, with narrow exceptions for ongoing investigations, national security, or protection of victims' identities.
Since Trump signed the bill, his administration has remained silent on progress. Earlier in December, a bipartisan group of lawmakers requested a briefing from Attorney General Pam Bondi, which she did not provide. Two Democratic senators have since pledged to block some civilian nominees, citing concerns that the administration is preparing to disregard the law, which passed both chambers of Congress with overwhelming support.
If the justice department fails to comply, the consequences are unclear but would likely provoke a political firestorm. The released files could include hundreds of thousands of pages related to Epstein's sex trafficking network, additional victim claims, and names of high-profile associates. The documents may also shed light on how Epstein evaded justice for decades, despite his connections to powerful figures including Trump and Prince Andrew.
Trump's far-right supporters have promoted conspiracy theories that Epstein's evasion was due to his links to influential men involved in a trafficking cabal. During his 2024 campaign, Trump promised to release the Epstein files and reiterated that pledge in his second term. However, in July, his justice department issued a memo stating there was no Epstein client list and that no further disclosure was warranted. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump's name appeared multiple times in Epstein files held by the department.
Congress acted in late November, passing the Epstein Files Transparency Act with few exceptions, and Trump signed it into law on 19 November. The deadline for compliance is the end of Friday, and failure to release the documents could trigger significant political backlash.
