Translated with AI
After much resistance, US President Donald Trump signed the Jeffrey Epstein Transparency Act, which requires the administration to release documents related to the now-deceased financier. Trump announced the move on Wednesday, November 19, on his social media account, Truth Social, after Congressional pressure on the White House intensified.
The day before, the US Congress approved the declassification of Epstein documents. The bill passed with 427 votes, with one Republican voting against. Only the president's signature remained for the law to take effect.
Under the law, the US Department of Justice must disclose within 30 days "all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials" related to the Epstein case, which is charged with soliciting minors for prostitution. This includes documents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and prosecutors. The law also obligates the department to disclose information related to Epstein's death in federal custody in 2019, presumably by suicide, and prohibits withholding materials due to "reputational damage or political sensitivity."
At the same time, Attorney General Pam Bondi has the right to exclude documents from publication that “could jeopardize an active federal investigation or an ongoing criminal prosecution.”
"Democrats are using the Epstein issue, which concerns them far more than the Republican Party, to distract from our amazing victories," Trump wrote on social media announcing the signing of the law.
The overwhelming majority of US citizens support the release of documents in the Epstein case. During the election campaign, Donald Trump promised to release them, but since taking office in January, he has only authorized the release of a limited number of uninformative documents. Critics accuse him of attempting to conceal his own possible involvement in the case.
On September 2, members of the House Oversight Committee released new materials on the Epstein case, obtained from the financier's heirs. Some of the documents suggest that Trump may have been aware of the deceased's criminal activities.
In September, Democrats released a photograph of a birthday card they claimed Donald Trump sent to Epstein more than 20 years ago. The card depicts a crude silhouette of a naked woman with a superimposed dialogue between "Jeffrey" and "Donald," ending with the phrase, "Happy birthday—and may each day be a new wonderful secret."
Who is Jeffrey Epstein?
Jeffrey Epstein was an American multimillionaire and financier accused of multiple sexual assaults against underage girls in the early 2000s. In 2019, he was found dead in his New York City jail cell. Officially, Epstein committed suicide, but many Americans speculate that he may have been murdered to prevent the identification of his accomplices.
