November 19, 2025
How much of the Epstein files are we actually going to see? Like – are we going to get pages with full redactions? Are we actually going to see anything? You’ve been asking those great questions. And in this video I’m going to give you the facts about how that is going to work. This is a long video – but I want you to understand what the bill actually says. Its important if you care about this.
First – you need to know – as of the recording of this video – President Trump has not yet signed the bill into law. But we expect him to sign it so – when he does then what? Well as I reported in this video –last week President Trump ordered a new investigation into the activities of Jeffrey Epstein in the southern district of New York. Generally – when there is an investigation – the Department of Justice does not release files nor do they even talk about the case. But we will have to see what actually happens once trump signs the bill.
Now – for arguments sake — let’s just assume that Trump signs this bill and the Justice Department does not decide to hold the files back because of the new investigation – I know that’s a stretch – but just go with me. Then we need to go to the actual text of the bill that congress passed and here’s the thing. That bill is extremely specific about what can and cannot be redacted by the DOJ and if things are redacted – there must be written documentation about why.
The law specifically says within 30 days of Trump signing the bill — the DOJ – the FBI and the state attorneys offices – that means *all* of the federal agencies that were involved in the Epstein investigation must make publicly available in a searchable and downloadable format all unclassified records, documents, communications and investigative materials in their possession that relate to – Epstein himself, Ghislaine Maxwell, flight logs travel records of any kind owned operated or used by Jeffrey Epstein or any related entity. They must release the names of individuals – including government officials named or even referenced in connection with Epstein’s criminal activities, civil settlements, immunity, plea agreements or investigations. They must release the names of entities – whether they are corporate, nonprofit, academic or governmental – with known or alleged ties to Epstein’s trafficking or financial networks. They must release all internal DOJ communications concerning decisions to charge or not to charge, investigate or decline to investigate Epstein *or* his associates. The DOJ must release all communications, memos, directives, logs or meta data concerning the destruction, deletion, alteration, misplacement or concealment of documents, recordings or electronic data related to Epstein, his associates, his detention and death.
I know that’s a lot I promise I’m going to explain those things in a second but I’m just getting to the critical part of this legislation. There is a whole section about what information the trump administration – or any administration after him – can and cannot withhold.
Most importantly – I want to start with the section titled ‘prohibited grounds for withholding”. That means what the DOJ can *not* withhold or redact. The law says – and I want to emphasize this — no record shall be withheld, delayed, or redacted on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary. Now – I’m going to stop right here because this clause is the reason why the House Speaker and several other Republicans went to the House floor yesterday and were demanding the Senate amend this bill. That’s why I made a big deal about it in this video. As I reported yesterday – during an investigation like this – lots of names get swept up and put in the file. Some of those people did absolutely nothing wrong and others may have done something wrong but were not prosecuted for one reason or another. The Speaker and several Republicans were arguing yesterday that those names should be all be redacted because if their names came out – they would be victimized too. This legislation says absolutely not. If your name is in the file – whether you did something wrong or not – you name will be released – even if it’s embarrassing, or politically sensitive or would cause you or your company reputational harm. That’s on you. Whether you agree with that – is up to you. I’m just reporting what the legislation says. And remember…the senate did not change this language. This is the exact wording that went to trump’s desk that will be signed into law.
Now – there’s one more section I want to explain because there are things this bill *does allow* the attorney general to withhold – or redact. First of all this section says only *portions* of records can be redacted but only if it – contains personally identifiable information or victims or victims personal and medical files…and by victims – they mean the young girls who were trafficked and abused by Epstein and his associates. The attorney general can redact information that depicts or contains child sexual abuse and information that depicts or contains images of death physical abuse or injury of any person. Now there are two relevant clauses in this section that are going to become very important– section “c” says the attorney general can redact information that would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution – but only if the redactions are narrowly tailored and temporary. And section “e” says the AG may redact information specifically authorized by the president in an executive order that must remain secret and are designated as classified for national defense or foreign policy reasons.
Now sections “c” and section “e” do give president Trump some wiggle room to redact things in the Epstein files. He and attorney general Pam Bondi could of course point to Trump’s new Epstein investigation as a reason for withholding portions of the files –and Trump could designate some of the information in the file as classified because of national security or foreign policy issues. And that would be completely legal under this bill.
But — the authors of the legislation probably anticipated Trump would do that – because they also put this section into the bill. It says *all* redactions must be accompanied by *written justification* for why it’s being redacted and must be published in the federal register and submitted to Congress. And if the president classifies items in the Epstein file because they fall into the national security or foreign policy realm– the attorney general *shall* release an unclassified summary for each of the redactions. So – if there are redactions – we are going to see justifications for why those things are being withheld from us in writing.
Lastly – the bill says 15 days after the Epstein files are released by the DOJ – the attorney general shall submit a report to congress that includes “a list of all government officials and politically exposed persons named or referenced in the released materials with no redactions.”
Read the bill here.
