President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law on Nov. 19. The measure directs the Department of Justice to release all unclassified records connected to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein within 30 days.
The move came after several days of public pressure from Trump, who urged House Republicans to support the bill. He said the country needed to “move on” from what he called a Democrat-driven hoax.
The legislation passed Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support. The House approved it 427 to 1. Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) cast the lone vote against the bill. Hours later, the Senate passed the measure unanimously before sending it to the White House.
After signing the bill, Trump posted a statement on Truth Social. He repeated his long-standing position that Epstein “was a lifelong Democrat,” who donated money to Democrat politicians. Trump also said Epstein was “deeply associated with many well-known Democrat figures.” He again described the controversy surrounding the case as a “Democrat Hoax.”
The law orders the Justice Department to release “in a searchable and downloadable format all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” tied to Epstein. It bars the department from delaying, withholding, or redacting information for political or reputational reasons.
The legislation includes several limited exceptions. The DOJ may withhold information that would reveal the identity of Epstein’s victims. It may also withhold material that contains child sexual abuse content, jeopardizes an active investigation, or shows images of death or physical injury.
Any redactions must be explained in writing. Those explanations must also be published in the Federal Register and sent to Congress.
The law requires Attorney General Pam Bondi to submit a follow-up report to Congress within 15 days after releasing the files.
The report must list which categories of documents were released or withheld. It must also summarize all redactions and the legal basis for each one. In addition, it must identify, without redaction, every government official or politically exposed person mentioned in the released records.
Attorney General Bondi said the Justice Department would follow the new law. She said the department would protect victims and aim for “maximum transparency.” It remains unclear how much new information will become public once the files are released. The exceptions for victim identities and ongoing investigations may limit what appears in the final documents.