The law signed by U.S. President Donald Trump requires authorities to disclose all materials related to the Jeffrey Epstein case within 30 days, DW reports.
U.S. President Donald Trump, after long resistance, signed a transparency law regarding documents related to the Epstein case (Efta), which mandates his administration to release materials concerning the late American financier Jeffrey Epstein. Trump announced the signing on Wednesday, November 19, on his social media platform Truth Social, after pressure from the U.S. Congress on the White House significantly increased.
The day before, the U.S. Congress greenlighted the declassification of documents related to Epstein. The bill was passed with 427 votes, with one Republican congressman voting against it. The only thing missing for the law to take effect was Trump's signature.
Now, the country's Department of Justice must disclose "all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials" related to the Epstein case, who was accused in the U.S. of coercing minors into prostitution. This also pertains to documents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the prosecution. The law also requires the department to release any information related to Epstein's death in federal prison in 2019 - presumably by suicide - and prohibits withholding materials in the future due to "reputational harm or political sensitivity."
At the same time, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is authorized to withhold materials from publication that "could jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing criminal prosecution."
"Democrats are using the 'Epstein' issue, which concerns them much more than the Republican Party, to try to distract from our tremendous victories," Trump wrote on social media, announcing the signing of the bill.
Trump May Have Been Aware of Epstein's Criminal Activities
The overwhelming majority of U.S. citizens support the publication of documents related to the Epstein case. During the election campaign, Donald Trump promised to make them public, but since his re-election as president in January, he has allowed the release of only a few sparse and uninformative documents. Critics accuse Trump of attempting to conceal possible personal involvement in the case.
Members of the House Oversight Committee released new materials related to the Epstein case on September 2, obtained from the financier's heirs. Some of these documents suggest that Trump may have been aware of the late financier's criminal activities.
In September, members of the U.S. Democratic Party published a photograph of a congratulatory card, allegedly signed by Donald Trump and sent to financier Jeffrey Epstein over 20 years ago. "Trump writes about the 'wonderful secret' they both share. What is he hiding? Release the documents (related to the Epstein case, - Ed.)," commented the Democrats.
The card features a schematic silhouette of a naked female body, over which a dialogue between "Jeffrey" and "Donald" is printed. It concludes with the phrase: "Happy Birthday - and may every day be a new wonderful secret."
Who is Jeffrey Epstein
Jeffrey Epstein was an American multimillionaire and financier. He was accused of numerous sexual assaults against underage girls in the U.S. in the early 2000s. In 2019, he was found dead in his prison cell in New York. According to authorities, Epstein committed suicide. Many Americans suspect that he was murdered to prevent him from implicating well-known accomplices in his crimes.
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