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Topics: Crime, Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, News, Politics, US News, World News
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Madison Burgess
Topics: Crime, Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, News, Politics, US News, World News
It's happened - Donald Trump has signed the bill to release all files relating to the Jeffrey Epstein case.
The US President, 79, announced the news last night (Wednesday) on Truth Social after increasing pressure from around the world, including from his own political party.
He wrote in a lengthy post: "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!"
Taking aim at Democrats, he added: "Democrats have used the ‘Epstein’ issue, which affects them far more than the Republican Party, in order to try and distract from our AMAZING Victories."
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For those who need a reminder, Epstein was found dead by suicide in his New York prison cell on 10 August 2019 as he awaited his trial on sex trafficking charges without the chance of bail.
Since then, following a slew of conspiracy theories and with the case coming into the limelight again following the late Virginia Giuffre's memoir, questions have constantly been asked about exactly what went on and who else was potentially involved.
Recently released emails from Epstein's email account have also pushed speculation further, with a lot of heat getting put on the POTUS to release the controversial Esptein files in their entirety, once and for all.
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Earlier this week, both the US House of Representatives and the Senate voted to pass a bill to force the Justice Department to publicly release all its files on the convicted sex offender.
All that was left was for Trump to sign it - and yesterday, as promised, he did it. So what happens now and when will the files be released?
Well, the bill requires the Justice Department to release all files and communications related to Epstein, as well as any information about the investigation into his death in the federal prison, within 30 days.
That means by roughly December 19 at the latest, the documents should be in public hands, but they could drop at any point up until then.
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The bill allows for redactions about Epstein’s victims for ongoing federal investigations, but the department cannot withhold information due to 'embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity'.
As per ITV News, the files are expected to include thousands of documents including flight logs from Epstein’s private jets, emails, estate records, court documents, as well as internal Department of Justice communications, and information about the investigation into his death in prison.
Trump made quite the U-turn when he told Republicans to vote to release the Epstein files earlier this week.
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He wrote on Truth Social: "House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files because we have nothing to hide. And 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."
Despite being friends with Epstein in the 1990s and 2000s, before their fallout, Trump has continuously denied any wrongdoing or any knowledge of Epstein's crime and the investigative material to date has yet to reveal any specific compromising details.
Trump said during a press conference on Tuesday (18 November): "As far as the Epstein files, I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. I threw him out of my club many years ago because I thought he was a sick pervert. But I guess I turned out to be right."
It comes just after House Democrats released several emails from Epstein, including a 2019 exchange that claimed Trump 'knew about the girls,' prompting more questions.