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(Washington, DC) — The Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed into law on November 19th, gives the Department of Justice 30 days to release the files — but it’s unclear what they’ll look like. They have to be searchable and downloadable but what they’ll contain is up to Attorney General Pam Bondi. The act gives her wide latitude to redact. She’s already said she’ll protect the victims so identifiable information about sex abuse victims is unlikely. Bondi can also withhold anything that would jeopardize an active federal investigation or information that’s classified for national security. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says Democrats are ready to push back if Bondi’s boss, President Trump, tries to interfere with full transparency.
The meteoric rise of Jeffrey Epstein began in the 1980s when, after a stint with Wall Street firm Bear Stearns, Epstein struck out on his own, partnering with others and ultimately running his own financial firm. His success made him a millionaire many times over. He became associated with the likes of Donald Trump, Bill Clinton and other high-income individuals in that circle of success.
Sid Rosenberg from “Sid and Friends in the Morning” on WABC gives his take with guest Rich Lowry
In July 2025 The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was one of nearly 50 celebrities and business executives who contributed in 2003 to a “bawdy” 50th birthday album for Epstein. Those who sent birthday wishes included Bill Clinton, designer Vera Wang, and famed attorney Alan Dershowitz. In September 2025, the Epstein estate released a redacted version of the birthday album to the House Oversight Committee which had subpoenaed it.
In 2007 federal prosecutors seemed ready to indict Epstein on perhaps as many as 60 federal charges.
In late 2018 The Miami Herald published Julie K. Brown’s investigative work during which she spoke to about 80 women who said that they were sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein between 2001 and 2006. The reporting began to connect the dots between Epstein’s actions and his social circle and prompted questions of how his high-profile friends could have been unaware of these activities.
On July 6, 2019, Epstein was arrested and charged with two federal crimes. On August 10, 2019, Epstein was found dead in his jail cell.
While running for president in 2024, Trump ambivalently said that he would release the Epstein files, In February 2025 Attorney General Pam Bondi invited a group of MAGA activists to the White House, where she distributed binders labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1” and “Declassified.” They included about 200 pages of documents, but little of it was new, and none of it was what conservatives had been calling for. Bondi alluded to a “client list” sitting on her desk.
July 7th the Justice Department issued a two-page unsigned memo that stated there was no client list, Jeffrey Epstein had killed himself, and no further disclosure of the contents of the Epstein file documents “would be appropriate or warranted.”
In August 2025, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, formally issued 11 subpoenas calling for the Trump Justice Department to turn over documents and testimony from 20 years of Epstein investigations by August 19th.
In November 2025 both the House and the Senate voted to approve The Epstein Files Transparency Act. The President signed it into law the following day. At the same time A.G. Bondi stated there was “more information’ coming from an Epstein investigation in New York. The Department of Justice has until December 19th to release the files.
