US President Donald Trump has signed a bill to release classified files on Jeffrey Epstein, which could shed light on his ties to the scandalous financier.
“I just signed a bill to release the Epstein files“, Trump wrote on the social media platform TruthSocial.
The signing took place at the White House. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday, then received accelerated absentee approval from the Senate.
Trump himself previously opposed the release, but later urged Republicans to vote for it. After the bill was approved in the Senate, the president urged the public not to belittle the achievements of his administration. He is suspected of ties to Epstein, although there is still no direct evidence linking the American leader to the financier's crimes.
On Sunday, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie reported that an unpublished part of Epstein's files contains the names of at least 20 celebrities potentially involved in the crimes that have not yet been investigated. The list includes politicians, billionaires and film producers.
Previously, Democrats in Congress released some data from Epstein's archive, but even after the bill for its public release is signed, some of the information will remain classified, such as information on victims of abuse and any materials containing or depicting child pornography.
The Trump administration can refuse to release materials that could hinder the investigation.
Last week, the US Department of Justice announced plans to investigate former President Bill Clinton, as well as former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, LinkedIn co-founder, billionaire and Democratic donor Reid Hoffman, for their ties to Epstein.
Public interest in the case has been revived after the Trump administration failed to release new materials, despite Republican campaign promises to declassify files.
In 2019, Epstein was charged in the United States with trafficking minors for the purpose of sexual exploitation, which carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, and conspiracy to commit such trafficking (up to five years in prison). According to prosecutors, between 2002 and 2005, Epstein had sexual relations with dozens of underage girls whom he hosted at his residences in New York and Florida. He paid them hundreds of dollars in cash, then hired some of the victims to serve as recruiters to attract more girls. Some of them were as young as 14.
In early July 2019, a court in Manhattan, New York, after hearing Epstein's testimony, ordered him to be held in custody and denied him bail. In late July of that year, it was reported that Epstein was found in a prison cell "nearly unconscious" and later died. An investigation revealed that he had committed suicide.