Epstein Files Transparency Act: What are the Epstein Files, and how is Trump linked?

The expedited release of the remaining files in the bill was made possible by a dramatic reversal in the president’s stance over the weekend, having previously dismissed calls from within his own party to prove he had terminated his ties with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein long before the latter died in prison.

On Sunday Trump urged Republican lawmakers to vote to release the Epstein Files “because we have nothing to hide”, and described the motion as a “hoax” manufactured by the Democrats to “deflect” attention from the Republicans. He wrote he wanted the Republican Party to “get BACK ON POINT.”

“The Department of Justice has already turned over tens of thousands of pages to the Public on ‘Epstein,’ are looking at various Democrat operatives (Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman, Larry Summers, etc.) and their relationship to Epstein, and the House Oversight Committee can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON’T CARE!” Trump wrote in a social media post.

The files relating to the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have hung over Trump’s second term like a dark cloud, with a collection of emails released last week referencing the current president’s proximity with the convicted financier.

Thus far, Trump has not been implicated in wrongdoing based on the emails. Here is what to know.

First, what are the Epstein Files?

The Epstein Files refers to the collection of evidence that investigators gathered about the several criminal cases in which Jeffrey Epstein and his associates were implicated. These include transcripts of interviews with victims and witnesses, and items confiscated during raids of his properties. While some court documents, such as the flight logs for Epstein’s private jet, have been made public, many others remain sealed. Conspiracists have long alleged that the FBI withheld the documents to protect the identities and reputations of other influential persons named in these documents.

In the 2000s, Jeffrey Epstein worked as a financial advisor and fraternised with the rich and influential, such as former US President Bill Clinton, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (formerly Prince Andrew), and even Donald Trump.

While allegations of Epstein sexually exploiting teenage girls date back to 2002, he was formally charged by Florida police after the parents of a 14-year-old girl accused him of molesting her at his mansion. A 2008 plea deal ensured that the full scope of accusations against him would remain buried. However, the issue was renewed in 2019, following investigative reporting by The Miami Herald, leading to his arrest by federal agents.

Former President Bill Clinton shaking hands with Jeffrey Epstein as Ghislaine Maxwell looks on (Wikimedia Commons)

It would later be revealed that Epstein had used his former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, to recruit and manage his potential victims.

Epstein died in jail while on trial for the sex trafficking charges, with a medical examiner concluding he had hanged himself.

And what is publicly known about the Epstein Files?

In February, the Justice Department and FBI released what they called “the first phase of the declassified Epstein Files,” which turned out to be material already available in the public domain. This tranche included Epstein’s flight logs, as well as a portion of his contact book bearing the names of famous people he knew.

In September, House Democrats released a birthday book made for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003, which bore letters, photos and signatures from several influential people. One such letter was allegedly signed by Trump, a claim that he has vehemently denied. The president sued The Wall Street Journal, owned by his long-time ally Rupert Murdoch, over its coverage of the letter, which we have explained here.

Last week, the House Oversight Committee released over 20,000 pages of documents from Epstein’s estate. While the Democrats on this committee initially published three email exchanges which mentioned Trump, House Republicans later released a large collection to counter the Democratic “cherry-picking” of documents and the “fake narrative to slander President Trump”.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released emails suggesting that Donald Trump knew more about Jeffrey Epstein’s activities than he has acknowledged.

One email sent in 2011 by Epstein to Maxwell reads: “I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump.. [VICTIM] spent hours at my house with him.”

So, how exactly is Donald Trump connected?

Donald Trump prominently features in the portion of Epstein’s correspondence that is publicly available. In July 2025, The New York Times reported that the duo had been friends and socialised for a decade, with their friendship reportedly souring in 2004 over a property bid.

Ahead of his return to the White House this year, Trump had promised to release unknown information about the Epstein Files. This was played up by US Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department, with the implication that the Trump administration would release hidden information about Epstein’s mysterious death.

In May, it was reported that Bondi had informed Trump of his name appearing in the Files. Two months later, the Justice Department and the FBI released a memo saying that they had concluded their investigation and would not release any more material. The two agencies also concluded that a “client list” containing names of Epstein’s famous associates did not likely exist, while its findings of Epstein’s death – that he had not been murdered in jail despite Bondi’s insinuation – indicated no new information.

However, this development, and the subsequent release of Epstein’s birthday book allegedly bearing a letter signed by Trump, proved divisive among MAGA loyalists. At the height of their feud, Elon Musk, who was a close ally of Trump’s until this June, alleged that the president was “ in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.”

It must be noted that the US president has been accused of sexual misconduct over the years, with a jury finding him liable for sexual abuse and defamation against former Elle columnist E Jean Caroll in 2023. However, the allegations and associated cases against him have thus far remained separate from the purported contents of the Epstein Files.

Further attempts by the government to suppress or downplay any connection between Trump and Epstein have snowballed in the wrong direction, in a classic case of The Streisand Effect unfolding in real time. We have explained this here.

Trump’s public falling–out with Marjorie Taylor Greene, a long-time ally who once propagated Q-Anon claims, is the latest sign of trouble for the president. (Notably, conspiracy theorists subscribing to Q-Anon believe that Epstein represented “elite Satan-worshipping” paedophiles in positions of power such as the government, business and the media.)

Trump’s latest reversal, after months of leveraging the Republican Party to stall any proceedings in the case, is seen as a ploy to give the party a strategic win, so that “they can go back to their districts and say, ‘I voted to release the Epstein files’,” according to an unnamed White House source who spoke to Politico.