Pam Bondi reveals vague timeline for Trump administration's release of Epstein files

New York, New York - President Donald Trump's Attorney General Pam Bondi addressed the long-delayed full release of files related to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a recent court filing, Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed President Donald Trump's administration plans to release the Epstein files "in the near term."
In a recent court filing, Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed President Donald Trump's administration plans to release the Epstein files "in the near term."  © Brendan Smialowski / AFP

In a court filing submitted on Tuesday to the two judges who oversaw the separate cases involving Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, Bondi claimed she has tasked hundreds of department attorneys, agents, and others with conducting a page-by-page review of the millions of documents within the Epstein files.

She explained the review was meant to "mitigate and minimize the risk of disclosure of any victim-identifying information."

Bondi could not give a definitive timeline as to when they will finish, but said the administration plans to release them "in the near term."

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In 2024, Trump ran for president on the promise to release the files, and after winning, Bondi repeatedly claimed they were "on my desk" for review.

But by July 2025, the Department of Justice had attempted to close the case after an "exhaustive review" of the evidence, claiming Epstein did not keep a client list related to his crimes.

The announcement was met with heavy backlash, and in response, members of congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, forcing the DOJ to release the files in full by December 19, 2025.

Since that deadline, less than 1% of the files have been published, and the slow release has been further undermined by heavy redactions.

Cover photo: Brendan Smialowski / AFP

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