1 / 12US President Donald Trump is expected to sign the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which mandates the public release of government records related to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Both chambers of the US Congress have now ordered the Justice Department to release all unclassified files related to Epstein. The bill passed overwhelmingly in the US House with a 427–1 vote and was cleared unanimously in the Senate. (Image YouTube) The following is a timeline of the Epstein files controversy.
2 / 12January 2024: Judge unseals Epstein documents | A US judge released a 40-page file, which mostly contained information that was already public, but it also mentioned his connection with Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew. The documents were connected to Virginia Giuffre’s 2015 lawsuit against Epstein, which had been settled in 2017. (Image AP)
3 / 12June 2024: Trump hints at releasing Epstein files | During his 2024 campaign, Donald Trump said on Fox News that he might declassify Epstein’s files. He also warned there could be a lot of fake and misleading information in the files. (Image Reuters)
4 / 12February 2025: Attorney General’s comment on Epstein files | During a Fox News interview, Attorney General Pam Bondi was asked if the Justice Department would release a list of Epstein’s clients. She said, “It’s sitting on my desk right now to review.” Later, the Justice Department invited conservative bloggers and social media influencers to see binders labelled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1. There was no new evidence, as most of the information had already been made public. (Image Reuters)
5 / 12May 2025: House requests release of files | The House’s Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets sent a letter to Bondi demanding that the Epstein files be released to the public. However, she did not respond to the request. (Image Reuters
6 / 12July 7, 2025: DOJ and FBI statement| The DOJ and FBI said they did not find any evidence of Epstein’s secret client list. Later, they released a video claiming that he committed suicide in jail in 2019. Later, some footage was found to be missing, which did not sit well with some people. (Image Reuters)
7 / 12July 15, 2025: House petition to release files | Republican Thomas Massie and Democrat Ro Khanna tried to get a House vote to force the release of Epstein files. But the petition failed, as it did not reach the 218 signatures needed to succeed. House Speaker Mike Johnson also asked Bondi to explain her actions. (Image Reuters)
8 / 12July 19, 2025: Trump sues Wall Street Journal | The Wall Street Journal reported that Epstein had received a sexually suggestive letter that had Donald Trump’s name on it. The letter included a drawing of a naked woman and the line, “May every day be another beautiful secret.” Trump called the letter “false, malicious, and defamatory” and sued the Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch, the media owner. (Image Reuters)
9 / 12July 24, 2025: Maxwell interviewed | Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanchewho was once Trump’s personal lawyer, and interviewed Epstein’s long-time associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking. A month later, the Justice Department released a transcript of the interview where Maxwell claimed that there was no client list kept by Epstein.(Image Reuters)
10 / 12September 2025: 50th Birthday book released | House Democrats released a 238-page PDF of a book made for Epstein’s 50th birthday. The book includes a prologue by Maxwell and a page allegedly from Trump. It contained a letter inside a drawing of a woman’s body, with Trump’s signature in a provocative spot. This matches descriptions by the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the letter in July. (Image Reuters)
11 / 12November 2025: Epstein’s estate emails released | US lawmakers released over 20,000 pages of documents from Epstein’s estate. Some emails mention Trump, including one where Epstein claimed Trump “spent hours at my house” with one of Epstein’s sex-trafficked victims. (Image Reuters)
12 / 12What are Epstein’s files? The ‘Epstein Files’ are government records that have been kept secret for years, which contain evidence collected by the Justice Department and FBI during investigations into Epstein, who died in 2019 in prison while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. The files cover the 2008 Florida case, where Epstein was convicted of molesting a 14-year-old girl and also contain information about the New York investigation, which led to federal charges of sex trafficking underage girls. These files also raise questions about Epstein’s connections with celebrities, business leaders, and politicians, including President Donald Trump. (Image AP)
