The Epstein files. 3 major questions right now

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Years in the system, the case of Jeffrey Epstein has reached another turning point and is raising new questions.

In a matter of hours Tuesday, both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved the Epstein Files Transparency Act. It directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to release all documents related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, his associate and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell and any communications regarding those cases.

In the House, it was a near-unanimous vote. Louisiana Republican Clay Higgins was the lone “no” vote.

The final vote Tuesday on the Epstein files bill.

The Senate unanimously approved the bill, using a rare procedure called “deem and pass” to bless the measure before it even arrived in the chamber. This maneuver, which has been used by both parties over the years, clears the way for legislation to reach the president’s desk. The bill arrived in the Senate on Wednesday morning and was promptly sent to the White House for signing. This was done by voice, meaning no senator had to register a specific “yes” or “no” vote.

Firestorms and Situation Room meetings at the White House have been set off by this bill and the successful effort to bring it to a vote, despite an initial block from Republican leadership. President Donald Trump has done a complete 180 on the measure – from fiercely campaigning against it to saying he would sign it.

We thought it a good time to give you a quick look at where the document push stands and what comes next.

Let’s talk about what happens as the bill becomes law.

• There’s a deadline. The bill demands that all Epstein files be released within 30 days.
• The fine print. There are some categories of information that can be withheld or redacted: personal information about victims, explicit depictions of child abuse, anything jeopardizing a federal investigation, depictions of death or injury, information properly classified to protect national security. (I pushed House Speaker Mike Johnson today to further explain his concerns about the bill.)

Watch the clip in the player above.

• What happens after the files are released? Within 15 days of the document drop, the Department of Justice must give Congress a full list of all materials released and withheld, a full report on any redactions, and a list of all government officials and “politically exposed persons” named in the materials.

Now to the next pressing question.

Are there ways the Department of Justice can delay the release?

Yes. Look at one of the categories of information that the attorney general can withhold — anything that “would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution, provided that such withholding is narrowly tailored and temporary.”

That is an understandable exception. And when the bill was written, it did not seem likely to include a large amount of material. There is no known current Epstein investigation. Epstein himself died in prison in 2019 before he went to court. Maxwell has been convicted and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

But in the last week, Trump specifically asked the DOJ to launch a *new* Epstein investigation into a list of individuals and entities. All of the individuals named, including former President Bill Clinton, are Democrats.

Some have wondered whether the DOJ will cite this new investigation as a reason to withhold large swaths of material.

And now, one last question.

How would the material be released?

That is not yet clear. But it could follow the administration’s current preferred method — handing over files to the House Oversight Committee.

Or the administration could post the files en masse online, as it did with files regarding the John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassinations.

So, what happens next?

We wait.