Epstein Files Timeline: How the Trump Administration Released Records

A year of political pressure and partial disclosures preceded the release of long-sought records on Jeffrey Epstein.

President Trump could have compelled the Justice Department to release all of its files on the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on his first day back in office in January, satisfying a promise he made to fervent supporters demanding transparency. Instead, he spent much of the past year denouncing critics, deflecting blame and changing the subject, allowing the issue to weaken his grip on his political base.

Before Mr. Trump ultimately relented under pressure and signed legislation in November directing the Justice Department to release its Epstein-related files, some of which became public on Friday, his administration and House Republicans released tens of thousands of documents. Many of those disclosures contained little new information and appeared aimed at tamping down criticism.

Here’s a look at those earlier disclosures:

February: Dud documents

Before joining the administration, Attorney General Pam Bondi helped fuel speculation about a government cover-up of Epstein-related documents. After being named to lead the Justice Department, she further stoked conspiratorial fervor among Mr. Trump’s supporters, telling Fox News that an Epstein “client list” was sitting on her desk and frequently suggesting that the administration would soon expose a sinister truth about Mr. Epstein’s death.

Seeking to appease that base, Ms. Bondi in late February teased the release of roughly 200 pages of documents she described as “breaking news.” She invited conservative influencers to the White House for a preview, handing out thick white binders labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1.”

The release proved anticlimactic. The documents contained little new information and largely consisted of flight logs that had long been public, a heavily redacted list of contacts and brief descriptions of items found at Mr. Epstein’s properties. The spectacle angered parts of Mr. Trump’s base, and some right-wing influencers turned on Ms. Bondi.

July: A push to move on

As frustration mounted, the F.B.I. and the Justice Department undertook an extensive review of more than 100,000 pages of Epstein-related material in an effort to find anything that might satisfy Mr. Trump’s supporters.

The effort yielded nothing new. The promised “Phase 2” never materialized, and in July the F.B.I. and the Justice Department instead issued a memo closing their investigation. It said that Mr. Epstein had died by suicide and found no incriminating evidence of additional perpetrators. The memo concluded that no specific “client list” existed, which earlier investigations had established.

Ms. Bondi and Mr. Trump urged the president’s supporters to move on. Many did not.

September: Subpoenaed Justice Department documents released

On Sept. 2, the House Oversight Committee released more than 33,000 pages of Epstein-related records that the Justice Department turned over in response to a subpoena that Democrats on the committee had effectively forced Republicans to issue. Although the subpoena sought all department files, only a portion was turned over. Many of the records released were already public court filings, and added little new information.

Nov. 12: Thousands of emails released from Epstein’s estate

On Nov. 12, Democrats on the oversight committee released three emails selected from thousands of documents provided by Mr. Epstein’s estate in response to a subpoena issued by the committee’s Republican chairman, Representative James Comer. In the emails, Mr. Epstein accused Mr. Trump of knowing more about the sex-trafficking operation than he had acknowledged.

In one email, Mr. Epstein wrote that Mr. Trump had spent hours at his home with one of Mr. Epstein’s victims. In another, he asserted that Mr. Trump “knew about the girls.”

Republicans on the committee condemned Democrats for selectively releasing messages that referred to Mr. Trump. Later that day, they released more than 20,000 documents from Mr. Epstein’s estate, including thousands of emails and text messages. The messages revealed much about Mr. Epstein’s day-to-day communications and showed influential people pressing him for insight into Mr. Trump, whom Mr. Epstein suggested he knew well. “i am the one able to take him down,” he wrote of Mr. Trump.

This trove of emails was separate from the Justice Department records that both critics and supporters of Mr. Trump had long demanded. Two days later, on Nov. 14, Mr. Trump called for investigations limited to Democrats mentioned in the emails, raising concerns that such probes could be used to justify withholding additional records.

Nov. 16: Near-unanimous approval

Pressure intensified in Congress as Mr. Trump’s supporters continued to call for transparency. Mr. Trump and Republican leaders had waged an all-out campaign to block a bipartisan effort, backed by several of Mr. Epstein’s victims, that would force a House vote directing the Justice Department to release all Epstein-related files.

Mr. Trump sent aides to warn Republicans that supporting the petition would be seen as a “hostile act” against the administration. He personally called defectors and summoned one high-profile Republican lawmaker to meet with Ms. Bondi and the F.B.I. director.

The efforts failed. In private conversations, Republicans warned Mr. Trump that voter pressure would leave them little choice but to support the release. Rather than risk a mass defection, Mr. Trump reversed course on Nov. 16, writing on social media that House Republicans should vote to release the files “because we have nothing to hide.”

Two days later, Congress overwhelmingly approved the bill.

Speaker Mike Johnson, who had fought for months to keep the bill off the House floor, including by refusing to swear in a Democratic representative-elect for more than seven weeks, said he ultimately felt he had to back it. “None of us want to go on record and in any way be accused of not being for maximum transparency,” he said.

The following day, President Trump signed the bill into law.

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