Donald Trump Signs Bill To Release The Epstein Files

The Epstein files have been haunting Donald Trump like the ghost of sexual deviance past in this absolutely macabre presidency we are currently living through. 

On Wednesday, the president of people who think it’s not a crime as long as she was 15 years old and not 8 years old, signed a bill directing the U.S. Department of Justice to release the files related to the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation, and as the Guardian notes, this is a big deal because Trump had the power to order the release of the documents on his own, but he waited until he had no other choice and signed the bill that came through Congress. 

Since this is Donald Trump we are talking about, we know he couldn’t just take the L and move on.

On Wednesday night, Trump went to his personal social media platform, Truth Social, and wrote, “Perhaps the truth about these Democrats, and their associations with Jeffrey Epstein, will soon be revealed, because I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE BILL TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES!” 

This is rich coming from a man whose name has been mentioned in tandem with Epstein’s so many times, it’s like they are a duo like Hall & Oates or Simon and Garfunkel. And while his name hasn’t been mentioned as a participant in any of the sickening activities Epstein is accused of, the fact that he is so closely associated with someone like Epstein is worth digging into. 

Birds of a feather and whatnot. 

From the Guardian:

The Justice Department has 30 days to release all files related to Epstein, including the investigation into his death by suicide in a federal prison cell. The legislation permits the redaction of identifying information of victims, but specifically bars officials from declining to disclose information over concerns about “embarrassment, reputational harm or political sensitivity”.

Trump waffled on the issue for years before finally succumbing to political pressure. On the campaign trail, he pledged to release the Epstein files. Once in office, he changed his position, calling the issue a “hoax” and railing against those who wanted to make the documents public.

But he reversed course in recent days after it was clear the House of Representatives would pass legislation, saying “we have nothing to hide” and that “it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown’”.

After Trump indicated his approval of the bill, Republican holdouts swiftly moved it through the House and then the Senate. Mike Johnson, the US House speaker, had stalled the bill for months, and after the House passed it, Johnson said he hoped the Senate would amend it, which it did not.

The bill requires Pam Bondi to release all the unclassified documents related to the Epstein investigation and put them in a “searchable and downloadable format” that is publicly accessible. According to the Guardian, that includes “all investigations into Epstein, his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, flight logs and travel records, individuals referenced or named in connection with his crimes, entities that were tied to his trafficking or financial networks, immunity deals and other plea agreements, internal communications about charging decisions, documentation of his detention and death, and details about any file deletions.”

There are, of course, exceptions to this, “including redactions of victims’ identifying information or personal files, any depictions of child sexual abuse, releases that would jeopardize active investigations or prosecutions and depictions of death or abuse.”

The bill also says “no record shall be withheld, delayed, or redacted on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary,” so we’ll see how that goes.

For now, we wait. The deadline for the release of the documents is Dec. 19 if we go by the date Trump signed the bill, and because this is Trump’s DOJ, it’s probably not wrong to assume they will drag their feet on this as long as possible. That’s how they do things over there. 

Pam Bondi seems to be trying to find ways to deflect in advance of the release of the documents. 

ABC News reports that ahead of Trump’s signing of the bill, Bondi said that the DOJ would “follow the law,” and she also hinted that “new information” had come to the DOJ about the Epstein files, but she did not specify what that new information is. 

The bill gives the DOJ a little “wiggle room,” as it were, in that Bondi can redact or withhold information that “would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution, provided that such withholding is narrowly tailored and temporary.”

Should the DOJ choose to withhold or redact any of the files, they will be required to outline their reasons for doing so within 15 days of the public release of the files. 

Damn. Who knew electing a serially bankrupt carnival barker and reality television star would lead to this much drama? 

SEE ALSO:

Trump Administration Tries To Quash Vote On Epstein Files

Epstein Emails Released By House Dems Implicate Donald Trump

Donald Trump Signs Bill To Release The Epstein Files was originally published on newsone.com