Calls to release Epstein files
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
A coalition of 17 state attorneys general urged Congress to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act II.
The bill would let states and victims sue over withheld or redacted records.
Background
The Epstein files are thousands of pages of documents from two criminal investigations into sex trafficking by financier Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, a topic of public discussion since Epstein's death in 2019. In November 2025, Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and the Justice Department has since released nearly 3.5 million pages, many heavily redacted. The proposed Epstein Files Transparency Act II would give state attorneys general, members of Congress and victims standing to sue the U.S. attorney general over withheld or redacted material.
How it unfolded
- Nov 18, 2025The House voted 427–1 to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which the Senate also passed and the president signed.
- Dec 19, 2025The Justice Department released hundreds of thousands of heavily redacted documents under the act, drawing criticism from Democratic and some Republican lawmakers and Epstein survivors.
- Jan 30, 2026The Justice Department released some three million more documents, saying it would be the last significant disclosure.
- Oct 15, 2026A coalition of 17 attorneys general led by New Mexico AG Raúl Torrez sent a letter to congressional leaders urging passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act II.
- Oct 16, 2026Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined attorneys general from across the country in a letter urging Congress to pass the bill, which has not yet passed.
- Oct 20, 2026Torrez renewed his call for Congress to pass a bill adding teeth to the federal Epstein files law.
Who’s saying what
- Support
- Dana Nessel said survivors still wait for the transparency Congress promised as millions of documents are being withheld.
- Support
- Raúl Torrez said survivors deserve answers, not continued obstruction, and vowed to keep fighting for the full, unredacted files.
- Caution
- The Justice Department told a federal judge it would not release additional unredacted investigative records because it believes it has already satisfied legal requirements.
- Official
- Vice President JD Vance acknowledged the administration's communication problems over the disclosures, saying it had 'absolutely screwed up the comms' and blaming former attorney-general Pam Bondi for overstating what the initial releases contained.
Still unverified
A document released by a federal judge in May 2026 purported to be a suicide note written by Epstein was not immediately authenticated as being written by him. Some question whether anything Maxwell would tell the government can be trusted because she could benefit from a presidential pardon. The presence of six men's names in the files is not indicative of wrongdoing, and their relationships with Epstein are unclear.