Trump will 'use every possible excuse' to redact worst parts of Epstein files: senator

Footage of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein at a party at Mar-a-Lago in the 1990s (Image: Screengrab via NBC News)

President Donald Trump has officially signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law, after the legislation passed through both chambers of Congress almost unanimously. But the new law includes one major catch that's already drawing criticism.

The Daily Beast reported Wednesday that Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), who introduced the bill in the Senate after it passed the House of Representatives by a 427-1 vote, is expecting a continuous fight with the Trump administration given that the law allows for Attorney General Pam Bondi to have final discretion over redactions. The Oregon Democrat told the Beast that he expects the Department of Justice (DOJ) to hand over the files with much of the contents still hidden from view.

"I fully expect that the attorney general and Trump will use every possible excuse for not releasing the files," Merkley said.

While the law lets the DOJ redact victims' names to protect their identities, it also stipulates that Bondi can withhold releasing certain parts of the files to avoid jeopardizing ongoing investigations. Jeffrey Epstein's brother Mark (who has not been charged with any crimes) said earlier this week that a "pretty good source" told him that the DOJ has been busy "sanitizing" the files at a facility in Virginia in anticipation of releasing them to the public.

However, scrubbing the files of any mention of Trump or Republican associates of Epstein may prove to be a difficult task. Former CNN, Fox News and NBC reporter David Shuster reminded his X followers on Tuesday roughly 1,000 DOJ staffers reviewed the Epstein files four different times between February and April, and were expressly told by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to flag any mentions of Trump. Shuster added that it's likely that whistleblowers within the DOJ could file a complaint to Congress if the files, when released, don't include those sections.

According to a New York Times report from July, the DOJ is sitting on more than 100,000 pages of documents pertaining to Epstein's two federal investigations in 2006 and 2019. And the FBI's index of Epstein evidence includes "more than 300 gigabytes of data," according to ABC News. the FBI also notably has in its possession a logbook of visitors to Epstein's Little Saint James Island, which housed his private compound, as well as a "document with names." It remains unknown whether that document is the rumored Epstein client list that Bondi has said does not exist.

The DOJ has until December 19, 2025 to release all of the Epstein files under the new law.

Click here to read the Beast's report in its entirety (subscription required).

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