US President Donald Trump has signed a bill requiring the Justice Department to release investigative files relating to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. This move marks a significant shift from his earlier position, where he had resisted the push to make the documents public, claiming the issue was being weaponized by the Democrats.
The Epstein case has been a focal point of political debate, with Trump initially opposing the release of the files. He argued that Democrats were using the issue to damage his presidency and urged House Republicans to block the measure. However, the bill’s passage indicates a change in his stance, as he now supports the release of these files.
Epstein, a financier convicted of sex offences in 2008 and charged again in 2019 with trafficking minors and running an underage sex ring, was found dead in a Manhattan jail cell that year. Officials ruled the death a suicide, though there has been speculation that he was killed to prevent testimony about numerous wealthy and influential figures that could have used his services.
In a statement on Truth Social, Trump labeled Epstein as a lifelong Democrat and recalled that several Democratic figures, including former President Bill Clinton, had ties to him. He claimed that the release of the files would expose the connections between Democrats and Epstein, suggesting that the Democrats were using the issue to distract from his administration’s achievements.
Trump suggested that the truth about these Democrats and their associations with Jeffrey Epstein would soon be revealed, as he had signed the bill to release the Epstein files. He accused Democrats of using the issue to distract from what he described as his administration’s achievements and claimed the Biden administration had not turned over a single file or page related to Epstein, adding that the Justice Department had already provided Congress with tens of,000 documents at his direction.
This latest move by Trump marks a significant shift from his earlier position, as he had previously urged House Republicans to block the measure, arguing that Democrats were pushing the release to damage his presidency. The bill’s passage, with the House approving it 427-1 and the Senate passing it unanimously, indicates a broader political strategy, with Trump aiming to highlight potential Democratic ties to Epstein and undermine their narrative.
Trump has previously been mentioned in several Epstein-related materials, including an email in which the financier claimed Trump knew about the girls. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back, saying the emails ‘prove absolutely nothing.’ Following the revelation, Trump ordered a probe into Epstein’s ties to prominent Democrats and urged House Republicans to vote for releasing the Epstein files, stating, ‘because we have nothing to hide.’ This development underscores the ongoing political tensions surrounding the Epstein case and its implications for the ongoing presidential administration.