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Speculation surrounding the affairs of Jeffrey Epstein is expected to reach a defining moment of revelation on Friday with the much-anticipated publication of files relating to the disgraced late financier and sex trafficker.
After months of delay and stalling, the Trump administration is legally obliged to publish a massive archive of documents that could shine fresh light on Epstein’s misdeeds and his connections with key public figures, including Donald Trump himself.
Under the terms of the Epstein Files Transparency Act – passed by Congress in November following months of resistance from the White House – Pam Bondi, the attorney general, must release by midnight on Friday “all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials” linked to Epstein, his jailed associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, and individuals named in connection with his criminal activities.
The files are required to be released in “searchable and downloadable” formats.
The publication will come after months of clamoring for the release of the files from Trump’s make America great again (Maga) base, which has shown signs of fracturing over the issue.
Trump – who was a close friend of Epstein before a break-up that he has given varying explanations for – promised to order the release of the files during last year’s presidential race but backtracked after returning to office.
He faced a fierce backlash from his own supporters after Bondi declined to make the files public last summer, and dismissed speculation about the existence of an Epstein client list – despite having previously said it was sitting on her desk.
As pressure has built, the president has called the Epstein affair a “Democrat hoax” and lambasted his own supporters for focusing on it.
His close ally, Mike Johnson, the House of Representatives’ speaker, kept the chamber in recess for several weeks, in a failed effort to persuade rebel Republicans from backing a discharge petition that would force a floor vote on releasing the files.
Ultimately, the discharge petition passed and the House voted 427 to one in favor of their release. The Senate quickly followed, backing the release by unanimous consent.
Trump, reversing his previous opposition, promptly signed the bill into law.
The president’s opponents have voiced suspicions that whatever is released will be incomplete, with information that could be damaging to him possibly withheld.
The justice department is permitted to hold back records that identify victims, including images of child sexual abuse, or documents that have been deemed classified.
It also has discretion to withhold records that could prejudice a federal investigation. Trump last month ordered a criminal investigation into Epstein’s links with prominent Democrats, including former president Bill Clinton.
The act’s Democratic sponsors have pointed out that the legislation requires Bondi to release an unclassified summary explaining every piece of redacted or classified information.
Even before the expected release of the files, Democrats on the House oversight committee stepped up the pressure on Thursday by releasing a new tranche of 68 pictures from Epstein’s estate.
One showed Epstein sitting with the philosopher, Noam Chomsky, on a plane while another showed Bill Gates, the philanthropist and Microsoft founder, posing beside a woman whose face was redacted.
