WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed a invoice Wednesday to compel the Justice Division to launch recordsdata associated to Jeffrey Epstein, capping off a monthslong bipartisan push in Congress that originally met resistance from the president and sparked sharp divisions throughout the Republican Get together.
Trump had beforehand stated he would signal the measure into legislation, at the same time as he continued calling the largely Democrat-led push to launch the recordsdata a “hoax.”
As a substitute of holding a public invoice signing ceremony on the White Home, as he has with different items of laws, Trump introduced on Reality Social that he had signed the measure. He additionally used the put up to take extra digs at Democrats, repeating his “hoax” characterization and arguing that they had been looking for “to attempt to distract” from his administration’s accomplishments.
The Home overwhelmingly supported passing the invoice on Tuesday, with solely Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., voting towards the laws. Later within the day, the Senate agreed to ship the measure to Trump by unanimous consent, which it did on Wednesday.
The invoice requires Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi to launch all unclassified data associated to Epstein withinc 30 days. The legislation permits Bondi to withhold or redact info that would jeopardize a federal investigation.
Final week, Bondi agreed to the president’s request for her division to analyze Epstein’s connections to Democrats and others. In his Reality Social put up Wednesday night time, Trump referred to that effort, writing, “Maybe the reality about these Democrats, and their associations with Jeffrey Epstein, will quickly be revealed.”
The Justice Division beforehand stated that it “didn’t uncover proof that would predicate an investigation towards uncharged third events.” Requested throughout a Wednesday information convention what had modified, she stated “new info, further info,” however didn’t elaborate.
The Epstein recordsdata and the president’s dealing with of the controversy have sparked uncommon disunity amongst Republicans in Congress and Trump’s supporters. The laws was co-led by Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and garnered vocal help from Democrats and a number of other Republican lawmakers together with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who had a public falling-out with Trump.
On Sunday, Trump reversed his longstanding opposition to the legislative effort and referred to as on Home Republicans to help the invoice, saying, “we have now nothing to cover.” Nonetheless, he continued referring to the scandal as a “hoax” perpetrated by Democrats.
On Tuesday, backers of the laws and survivors of Epstein held information convention on Capitol Hill to induce lawmakers to help the discharge of the recordsdata. A few of the survivors instantly criticized the president, with one, Jena-Lisa Jones, urging him to “please cease making this political.”
The Epstein recordsdata surged into the highlight final week when Republicans on the Home Oversight Committee launched greater than 20,000 pages of paperwork from Epstein’s property after Democratic lawmakers launched emails from Epstein that referred to Trump.
In one of many emails, Epstein claimed in 2019 that Trump “knew in regards to the women,” however he didn’t accuse Trump of any wrongdoing. In one other electronic mail from 2011, Epstein referred to Trump as “that canine that hasn’t barked” and stated that the now-president “spent hours” at Epstein’s dwelling with a redacted title labeled as a “sufferer.”
Trump has persistently denied involvement in any of Epstein’s crimes.
White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to the emails throughout a press briefing, saying that the emailed “show completely nothing apart from the truth that President Trump did nothing fallacious.”
Trump was buddies with Epstein within the Eighties and ’90s, however had a falling-out with him within the early 2000s, accusing Epstein of hiring away younger feminine staff from his resort’s spa. Trump has stated he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago. The White Home has maintained that Trump threw Epstein out of his membership “for being a creep.”
Epstein pleaded responsible in 2008 to Florida state prices of soliciting prostitution with a minor. He died by suicide in jail in 2019 as he waited to go to trial on federal sex-trafficking prices.
Scott Wong, Melanie Zanona, Kyle Stewart, Brennan Leach, Zoë Richards and Tara Prindiville contributed.
