WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump On Wednesday, he signed a bill forcing the administration to release files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but after initially resisting such efforts, he succumbed to political pressure from his own party.
Mr. Trump may have chosen to release many of the files himself months ago.
“Democrats are trying to use the Epstein issue, which affects them more than Republicans, to distract from our amazing victory,” President Trump said in a social media post announcing the signing of the bill.
The bill would require the Justice Department to release all files and communications related to Epstein within 30 days, as well as information related to the investigation into his 2019 death in federal prison. Editing about Epstein’s victims is allowed in the ongoing federal investigation, but the Justice Department cannot withhold information for reasons of “embarrassment, reputational damage, or political considerations.”
it is A surprising turn of events That’s because it was a once-outlandish effort to force the release of case files from a bizarre Congressional coalition of Democrats, one Republican opponent of the president, and several former Trump allies. Just last week, the Trump administration summoned Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, one of the Republican proponents of file disclosure, to the Situation Room to discuss the issue, but she did not change her mind.
But over the weekend President Trump made a sharp U-turn. Once it became clear that Congressional action was inevitable, the files were removed. He said he wanted to move on, arguing that the Epstein issue had gotten in the way of the Republican agenda.
President Trump explained his sudden change in attitude in a social media post on Tuesday afternoon, saying, “I don’t want Republicans to take their eyes off the victories they’ve had.”
The House passed the bill by a vote of 427-1. Rep. Clay Higgins (R-Louisiana) is the only opponent.. He argued that the bill’s language could lead to the release of information about innocent people mentioned in federal investigations. The Senate then skipped a formal vote and approved it unanimously.
It has long been established that Mr. Trump was friends with Mr. Epstein, a disgraced financier close to the world’s elite. But the president has consistently said he was unaware of Epstein’s crimes and long ago severed ties with him.
Before Trump returned to the White House for a second term, some of his closest political allies Helped fuel conspiracy theories Regarding the government’s response to the Epstein case, he argued that potentially incriminating information contained in these files was withheld.
