U.S. President Donald Trump has now signed into law what’s known as the “Epstein Files Transparency Act,” and the U.S. Department of Justice will have 30 days to release all documents and records it possesses relating to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including files about his associates and death. Under the text of the bill, records cannot held back “on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.” But the DOJ is permitted to redact or withhold certain records, including the personal information of victims, child sexual abuse material and material that could jeopardize active federal investigations – like a new Epstein investigation that was launched on Friday. “The documents contain the truth, and the truth is very dangerous and very scary to a lot of people,” attorney Mary Fitilchyan, who represents several Epstein survivors, told CTV News Channel on Wednesday. “Even if the files are released, there’s going to be heavy redactions, and we see that in Trump’s directive to … investigate the Democrats that are in the files.” Powerful names on list may be withheld: lawyer After months of opposition to what he calls a “Democrat hoax,” on Sunday Trump urged lawmakers to vote for the release of the Epstein files amid mounting pressure from within his own party. The Epstein transparency bill quickly cleared both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate this week, with Trump signing off late Wednesday night. Jordan Merson, a lawyer who represents more than 30 women in a civil suit against the FBI for what they claim was inaction towards Epstein after years of accusations, says if Trump will release the files, he should also “step up for survivors and accept accountability, rather than fighting on procedural technicalities.” “Any smoking guns are highly likely to be redacted. If anything is incriminating or harmful to anyone currently in power, those could be withheld,” he said in an interview with CTV News Channel on Wednesday. According to Merson there’s “wiggle room” with the 30-day timeline release. “We may see a rolling production - some files that are released and then some files get released down the line,” he said. A major exception The Epstein bill allows material to be held back if it could jeopardize active federal investigations. That means documents and evidence may be withheld if they relate to the new investigation into Epstein’s ties to prominent Democrats and Trump foes like former U.S. president Bill Clinton, former U.S. treasury secretary Larry Summers and billionaire LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman. Following calls from Trump, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the investigation on Friday via social media, saying that the DOJ would “pursue this with urgency and integrity to deliver answers to the American people.” When asked about the new Epstein files bill on Wednesday, Bondi told reporters, “We will continue to follow the law with maximum transparency while protecting victims.” In July, the DOJ said that it would not publicly release any more Epstein files, despite earlier promises from Bondi. The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released an additional 20,000 pages of Epstein documents last week. “We’ve already also seen redactions in file releases that have occurred, and you know ultimately that’s just a disservice to the victims because these files should be fully released so that there’s full transparency,” Fitilchyan said. Republican congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky co-sponsored the Epstein bill along with California Democrat Ro Khanna. “I believe they may be trying to use those investigations as a predicate for not releasing the files, that’s my concern,” Massie told reporters on Monday. “These files implicate billionaires and friends of his and political donors that he’s trying to protect.” With files from CTV News’ Dorcas Marfo
