WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — Both the House and Senate unanimously passed a bill requiring the Justice Department to release its files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, paving the way for the publication of thousands of documents.
The bill now awaits President Donald Trump‘s signature. If he vetoes the bill, it could be overridden by a two-thirds vote in the Senate.
The bill’s passage is a pivotal moment in a yearslong push for accountability over abuse allegations and a reckoning of law enforcement officials’ failure to act under multiple presidential administrations.
The effort was initially met with opposition from Trump and Republican leadership, though Trump eventually reversed course and said this week that Republicans should support the bill.
The Senate unanimously passed the measure, called the Epstein Files Transparency Act, after all but one House lawmaker voted for it on Tuesday.
‘We’ll follow the law’: AG Pam Bondi
While the DOJ has not yet released how it will respond to the legislation, Attorney General Pam Bondi said the agency would do its best to protect victims with “maximum transparency.”
“We will continue to follow the law with maximum transparency while protecting victims,” she said Wednesday during a press conference on an unrelated issue.
Tuesday’s vote marked a significant step in the growing demand for transparency surrounding Epstein, a politically connected financier who died in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
When will the Epstein files be made public?
Trump, who spent months resisting the release of the files, has committed to signing the legislation should it clear both chambers. Once he does, the bill would give the Department of Justice 30 days to release its records on the Epstein investigation.
Under the bill, the DOJ would be required to release all files and communications related to Epstein, including information on the investigation into his death. Details involving victims or ongoing investigations could be redacted, but not information withheld for reasons of “embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.”
The significant carve-out is meant to protect victims and ongoing cases, and names and details that could identify survivors or jeopardize active investigations will be redacted.