Trump had denied sending “birthday note” to Epstein after the Wall Street Journal published notes from it in July. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed the bill compelling the Justice Department to release all the files related to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The bill, formally titled the Epstein Files Transparency Act, was earlier cleared by the US House of Representatives with a 427-1 vote and the Senate agreed to clear the bill unanimously.
“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,” wrote Trump in a post on Truth Social as he signed the bill.
The bill which has been cleared by the US Congress and signed by President Trump now compels the Justice Department to release all the files and communications related to Epstein, including the investigation during his death in a federal prison in 2019 within a span of 30 days.
However, the bill allows to censor the Epstein’s victims where federal investigations are currently ongoing, but the Justice Department will not be able to withhold information due to “embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity.”
Trump, over the weekend, made a sharp U-turn regarding the release of Epstein files as it became clear that a congressional vote was inevitable. The US president said he wanted to move on from the Epstein matter and said that it has become a distraction to the Republicans agenda. Explaining his rationale, Trump said in a post on Tuesday, “I just don’t want Republicans to take their eyes off all of the Victories that we’ve had.”
The House passed the legislation with an overwhelming majority except for Representative Clay Higgins who was the sole dissenter. Higgins said that the language of the bill could lead to the release of information on innocent people mentioned in the federal investigation.
After the House cleared the bill, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday called on the Senate to pass the bill to release all Epstein files. No senator objected to Schumer’s call which meant the bill was adopted by Senate with a unanimous vote and it will not have to take any further action.
(with inputs from AP)
