Trump Signs Bill Opening Epstein Files 11/20 06:16

   President Donald Trump signed legislation Wednesday that compels his 
administration to release files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, 
bowing to political pressure from his own party after initially resisting those 
efforts.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump signed legislation Wednesday that 
compels his administration to release files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey 
Epstein, bowing to political pressure from his own party after initially 
resisting those efforts.

   Trump could have chosen to release many of the files on his own months ago.

   "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," 
Trump said in a social media post as he announced he had signed the bill.

   Now, 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 a federal prison in 2019, within 30 days. It 
allows for redactions about Epstein's victims for ongoing federal 
investigations, but DOJ cannot withhold information due to "embarrassment, 
reputational harm, or political sensitivity."

   It was a remarkable turn of events for what was once a farfetched effort to 
force the disclosure of case files from an odd congressional coalition of 
Democrats, one GOP antagonist of the president, and a handful of erstwhile 
Trump loyalists. As recently as last week, the Trump administration even 
summoned one Republican proponent of releasing the files, Rep. Lauren Boebert 
of Colorado, to the Situation Room to discuss the matter, although she did not 
change her mind.

   But over the weekend, Trump did a sharp U-turn on the files once it became 
clear that congressional action was inevitable. He insisted the Epstein matter 
had become a distraction to the GOP agenda and indicated he wanted to move on.

   "I just don't want Republicans to take their eyes off all of the Victories 
that we've had," Trump said in a social media post Tuesday afternoon, 
explaining the rationale for his abrupt about-face.

   The House passed the legislation on a 427-1 vote, with Rep. Clay Higgins, 
R-La., being the sole dissenter. He argued that the bill's language could lead 
to the release of information on innocent people mentioned in the federal 
investigation. The Senate later approved it unanimously, skipping a formal vote.

   It's long been established that Trump had been friends with Epstein, the 
disgraced financier who was close to the world's elite. But the president has 
consistently said he did not know of Epstein's crimes and had cut ties with him 
long ago.

   Before Trump returned to the White House for a second term, some of his 
closest political allies helped fuel conspiracy theories about the government's 
handling of the Epstein case, asserting a cover-up of potentially incriminating 
information in those files.