US President Donald Trump announced on social media on Nov. 19 (local time) that he has signed a bill mandating the public release of documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case, according to a report by Agence France-Presse cited by China News Network.
The bill requires the U.S. Department of Justice to release all relevant files and communication records concerning the Epstein case within 30 days. This includes investigation details into his death in a federal prison in 2019, which was officially ruled a suicide.
Epstein, a financier who associated with numerous American political, business, and elite figures, pleaded guilty in 2008 to procuring a minor for prostitution and served 13 months in prison. He was arrested again in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges but denied the allegations. He died in his jail cell before his trial concluded.
Trump had opposed the release of the Epstein files for months, but later reversed his position. He urged his fellow Republicans to vote for the bill, pledging to sign it into law if it passed both chambers of Congress. Trump has previously stated that he was once a friend of Epstein but had cut ties with him over a decade ago and had no knowledge of his sexual crimes.
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