President Donald Trump signs bill to force DOJ to release Jeffrey Epstein files

PHOENIX — After months of resistance, President Donald Trump has signed a bill to force the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release files on disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein on Wednesday.

“I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE BILL TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES!” Trump wrote in a 6:20 p.m. announcement on Truth Social.

Trump’s move to force the DOJ to release files on the Epstein sex trafficking case marked a sharp reversal from his earlier claims that concerns over those files were a “hoax.”

Arizona played a key role in the bill’s journey to Trump’s desk

One Congresswoman from Arizona was instrumental in the bill’s passage: U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva, who Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson swore in last week after making her wait a historically long 50-day delay.

Grijalva honored the survivors of Epstein’s abuse during her swearing-in speech. That same day, she fulfilled her promise to provide the essential 218th signature on a bipartisan discharge petition to force the DOJ to release the Epstein files.

The bill passed the House 427-1, then moved to the Senate, where it was approved unanimously without a formal vote.

What impact will Trump signing bill to force release of Epstein files have?

Now, the bill requires the Justice Department to release all files and communications related to Epstein, as well as any information about the investigation into his death in a federal prison in 2019, within 30 days.

It allows for redactions about Epstein’s victims for ongoing federal investigations, but DOJ cannot withhold information due to “embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity.”

It was a remarkable turn of events for what was once a farfetched effort to force the disclosure of case files from an odd congressional coalition of Democrats, one GOP antagonist of the president, and a handful of erstwhile Trump loyalists.

As recently as last week, the Trump administration even summoned one Republican proponent of releasing the files, Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, to the Situation Room to discuss the matter, although she did not change her mind.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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