Overview
- President Donald Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act on Wednesday, triggering a 30-day deadline for the Justice Department to publish unclassified Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell records by December 19.
- The DOJ on Friday filed in federal court in Florida to unseal grand jury transcripts and lift protective orders, arguing the new law requires public production and pledging to redact victim and personal identifying information.
- Courts in Florida and New York previously denied similar requests, and DOJ is now renewing those efforts to comply with the statute’s mandate.
- The law bars withholding based on embarrassment or political sensitivity, requires written justifications for any redactions to be sent to Congress, and directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to provide Judiciary committees a list of government officials and politically exposed persons named in the files.
- Survivors welcomed the transparency push but warned of heightened threats and potential over-redaction, while DOJ’s earlier memo said no credible ‘client list’ was found and a newly opened SDNY probe could justify temporary withholding of some materials.