The Justice Department has less than 30 days to make public its records on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Here’s what we could learn.
More than six years after his death in jail, Jeffrey Epstein is still alive and well in the public discourse.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act after months of pressure from members of Congress, including some in his own party.
The law requires one of the most radical acts of transparency in the Justice Department’s history, requiring it to make public its records related to Epstein, the notorious and well-connected pedophile financier who killed himself while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
The department has 30 days to comply, setting a deadline of Saturday, December 19.
Epstein counted Trump, Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, and other titans of finance, law, politics, and science among his acquaintances. His alleged victims and other members of the public hope the files will shed light on those relationships and law enforcement’s handling of the case.
Here’s what sets this release apart:Haven’t we already seen a whole lot of ‘Epstein files’?
In recent months, the House Oversight Committee has made public Epstein-related documents it obtained through subpoenas, including emails provided by his estate.
Other documents have been made public through the federal prosecution of Epstein’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, who was found guilty of sex trafficking and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Civil lawsuits involving Epstein, Maxwell, banks affiliated with Epstein, and the US Virgin Islands government have shaken loose even more records about his life. Various drips and drabs have also entered the public domain through Freedom of Information Act requests, government reports, and an inquiry from the Senate Finance Committee.
All of that may pale in comparison to what the Justice Department has in its possession.
OK, so what’s new here?
The Epstein Files Transparency Act requires the Justice Department to publish «all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials» about Epstein and Maxwell.
Those could include more emails and text messages, as well as internal prosecutorial records. The Justice Department has overseen two different criminal investigations into Epstein’s sexual abuse of teenage girls.
