Former U.S. President Donald Trump has told the Justice Department to release more documents linked to Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier involved in many criminal cases. This decision comes after strong pressure from his followers.
Trump explained that due to all the attention on Epstein, he asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to bring forward all important grand jury testimonies. He added that this would still need court approval before anything is made public.
It’s still unclear if Trump wants these documents to be shown to the public or just reviewed privately. Normally, a judge must agree before such legal documents can be released.
Trump also said he plans to sue The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper had reported that a strange birthday message, supposedly signed by Trump, was sent to Epstein back in 2003. The message was typed inside the shape of a naked woman and included a fake chat between the two men. Trump strongly denied this, saying he doesn’t talk or write like that and didn’t draw the picture.
The Wall Street Journal stated that the letter was included in a group of messages put together by Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s close associate. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence for her role in Epstein’s sex trafficking crimes.
After Trump gave the order, Attorney General Pam Bondi said they would ask the court the next day to unseal grand jury documents. Grand juries, which are made up of citizens, decide if there is enough proof for someone to face criminal charges. However, these findings don’t prove guilt—they still have to go through a trial.
At the moment, it’s not clear if Trump wants documents from Epstein’s earlier legal cases in the 2000s or from his 2019 charges to be released. The White House has not yet given more details.
Some Epstein-related court records have already been made public. These include files from a 2006 Florida case, where he was only lightly punished, despite being accused by several underage girls.
Trump had promised to make Epstein’s files public during his election campaign. However, Bondi recently said the Justice Department didn’t find a secret “client list” involving powerful people. She also repeated that Epstein died by suicide, even though many people still believe otherwise.
This announcement came after Bondi previously said she would reveal important new information—like the names of people who traveled with Epstein and went to his island. But when she didn’t do so, many Trump supporters became angry and demanded that she step down.
One well-known conservative voice, Charlie Kirk, said Trump’s decision was a major win. He had been pushing the administration to release more Epstein information for a long time.
Jeffrey Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019 while waiting for trial on sex trafficking charges. This happened many years after he was first found guilty of paying a minor for sex.
