Justice Department to Release Jeffrey Epstein Investigation Files Following Congressional Mandate

The Epstein scandal has continued to plague Trump's administration for several months.

Washington:

US Attorney General Pam Bondi announced on Wednesday that the Justice Department will release files from its investigation into deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein within 30 days. This decision follows Congress's near-unanimous vote requiring President Donald Trump's administration to make these documents public.

The forthcoming materials may provide additional insights into Epstein's activities, particularly his social connections with Trump and other prominent figures prior to his 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution. This scandal has remained problematic for Trump's presidency, partly because he has promoted conspiracy theories about Epstein to his supporter base.

A significant portion of Trump's voters believe his administration has concealed Epstein's connections to influential individuals and withheld details surrounding his 2019 death in a Manhattan jail, which officials ruled a suicide. At the time of his death, Epstein was facing federal sex trafficking charges.

During her news conference, Bondi confirmed the Justice Department's commitment to releasing Epstein-related materials within the 30-day timeframe mandated by legislation passed by both the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Senate on Tuesday.

"We will continue to follow the law and encourage maximum transparency," Bondi stated.

However, the release may not be comprehensive, as the department might need to withhold certain materials that could impact Trump-ordered investigations of Democratic figures associated with Epstein. Additionally, Bondi emphasized that the department will protect the identities of any sex-trafficking victims mentioned in the documents.