5 reasons why Epstein files may not come out even if Congress takes action
- Ani
- 1 hour ago
- 5 min read
WASHINGTON ‒ The House of Representatives' overwhelming Nov. 18 vote directing the Justice Department to release the full files from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation sent a clear message: Make it all public.
Yet there's reason to doubt all the information collected by the federal government during its investigation into the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender will see the light of day, even if the Epstein bill passes the Senate and is signed by President Donald Trump.
Here's why the Epstein documents still might not come out even if Congress acts.
Trump's newly announced Epstein investigations
Two days before Trump changed his tune by calling for House Republicans to vote to release the Epstein files, the president ordered the Justice Department to investigate Democratslinked to Epstein, who died by suicide in a federal prison in 2019.
Trump singled out former President Bill Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and venture capitalist Reid Hoffman, as well as JPMorgan Chase, as subjects of investigations.
Will the Epstein files be released? Here's what would need to happen.
Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the Justice Document would be able to withhold documents that "would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution, provided that such withholding is narrowly tailored and temporary."
Ty Cobb, a former White House lawyer in the first Trump term, said he believes Trump's sudden turnabout in favor of releasing the Epstein files is a "canard." Cobb said he believes that Attorney General Pam Bondi will cite the ongoing investigations as a reason not to release them.
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"I think he and Bondi have determined that they'll try to use Trump-ordered 'investigations' of Democrats ‒ but not Republicans, as he stated ‒ as a bar to producing anything," Cobb said in an interview on CNN. "I think it'll be a long time before we see anything, although there are certain documents that could be easily produced."
If Trump wanted to release the Epstein files immediately, he could order the Justice Department to do so. Asked by an ABC News reporter on Nov. 18 why he hasn't, the president snapped at the reporter and suggested ABC's broadcasting license should be revoked.
Trump and Epstein were friends during the 1990s and early 2000s before the two men had a falling out. Emails from Epstein released last week by the Republican-led House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and separately by House Democrats, mentioned Trump by name.
In one of them, Epstein wrote of Trump, "I am the one able to take him down." Epstein, in other emails released by House Democrats, said Trump "spent hours at my house" with one of Epstein's victims and allegedly "knew about the girls."
Asked by reporters Nov. 14 aboard Air Force One what Epstein meant by the comment, Trump said“I know nothing about that.”
Trump changed his position by calling for the release of the files after it became clear enough Republicans backed the measure for its passage.
Protecting Epstein victims
The legislation the House approved also contains language permitting Bondi to withhold records that could violate the rights of Epstein victims. This includes personally identifiable information that reveals the names of victims or materials that depict or contain child abuse.
The Justice Department has said Epstein had more than 1,000 victims. Some have led the public push for the government to release all the Epstein documents.
The Trump administration previously cited the sensitive nature of the materials when the DOJ and FBI announced in July it would not be releasing the full Epstein files. The agencies said the records included large volumes of images of Epstein and victims who were minors or appeared to be minors and more than 10,000 videos and images of illegal child sex abuse material and other pornography.
Prior to the House vote, Johnson said he spoke with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, about adding an amendment to the Senate version of the bill to address concerns about revealing victims' identities.
"I’m very confident that when this moves forward in the process, if and when it is processed in the Senate – there’s no certainty that that will be – that they will take the time methodically to do what we have not been allowed to do in the House, to amend this discharge petition and to make sure these protections are there," Johnson said.
Uncertainty in the Senate
The near-unanimous 427-1 House vote to release the Epstein files provides momentum for the Senate to do the same.
Shortly after the House vote, Thune said he expects to the Senate to move "fairly quickly" to approve the legislation given Trump's commitment to sign it.
Still, it's unclear what the amendments cited by Johnson to address concerns about victims' identities will look like.
The bill would need at least 60 votes in the Senate to reach a filibuster-proof majority.
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, previously expressed hesitation about the bill prior to Trump's sudden change in positions.
"We all want accountability and transparency," said in a Nov. 16 interview on NBC's "Meet the Press." "But to me, this is not about truth. It's not about justice. This is about an attempt by the Democrats to make President Trump a lame-duck president. And I'm not going to aid and abet them in their efforts to do that."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said he would try to pass the Epstein files bill immediately by unanimous consent in the Senate.
"Americans are tired of waiting and are demanding to see the truth," Schumer said in a statement.
Trump's history of ignoring Congress
During his second term in the White House, Trump has routinely ignored laws passed by Congress when it comes to funding federal programs and agencies.
Although Trump vowed he would sign the billinto law if Congress passes it, his track record of asserting executive power raises questions how closely his administration would follow the directive.
Trump has clashed with Democrats in Congress over how federal money is spent. The president has sought to eliminate the Department of Education, even though Congress established the department by law. He did the same to the U.S Agency for International Development and worked to gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Nevertheless, outright ignoring a bill passed by Congress – one that he signs – would be his most blatant defiance yet and a complete flip from his sudden new position.
Grand jury records are blocked
Even if certain Epstein documents are released by the Justice Department, records from the grand jury that indicted Epstein on sex trafficking charges would not be included in any handover of documents.
A New York federal judge in August became the third judge to deny the Justice Department's bid to unseal these records, whose secrecy is protected by law.
Evidence heard by grand juries, which operate behind closed doors to consider indictments, cannot be released without the approval of judges. The Justice Department's evidence presented to the grand jury in the Epstein case was never made public because Epstein died in 2019 as he awaited trial.
Still, U.S. District Judge Richard Berman said the grand jury records aren't close to the volume of records in possession of the government. "The Government's 100,000 pages of Epstein files and materials dwarf the 70 odd pages of Epstein grand jury materials," Berman wrote in his decision. "The grand jury testimony is merely a hearsay snippet of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged conduct."
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