Trump says he signed Epstein bill

President Donald Trump said he signed the Jeffrey Epstein files bill Wednesday night in a post on his social media platform.

In his post, Trump accused Democrats of being associated with the disgraced financier.

He said: “Maybe the truth about these Democrats and their connections to Jeffrey Epstein will soon be revealed, because I just signed a bill to release the Epstein files!”

The president also reiterated his assertion that the Epstein files are a distraction from his agenda and that what he called a Democratic hoax “will backfire on Democrats just as others have!”

Two congressional aides told ABC News on Wednesday that the bill was sent to the White House at 4:38 p.m. Wednesday.

Earlier Wednesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi faced questions about how the administration could release documents in Epstein’s files.

“We have released more than 33,000 Epstein documents to the Hill, and we will continue to follow the law and maximize transparency. We will always encourage all victims to come forward,” Bondi said in a news conference with FBI Director Kash Patel, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and other officials regarding unrelated law enforcement actions.

Last week, Bondi announced that the Justice Department had launched a renewed investigation into the files and possible ties between prominent Democrats and Epstein just hours after Trump ordered it to do so on his Truth Social account.

ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas pressed Bondi on Wednesday about what had changed from the department’s July memo, in which they said they intended not to make any future public disclosures related to their review of the Epstein case, and no further charges were expected.

“There is information, new information, additional information,” she said in response to Thomas’ question. “Again, we will continue to follow the law to investigate any leads. If there are any victims, we encourage all victims to come forward. We will continue to provide the utmost transparency under the law.”

It is unclear whether the Justice Department will seek to cite the new investigation as exempting many of the files from public disclosure given their connection to the new investigation, although the Justice Department and the FBI unequivocally stated in a July statement that they had not uncovered any evidence in reviewing the files that would support an original investigation against any unindicted individuals.

The Justice Department is unlikely to release the entire Epstein dossier, according to sources. Any materials related to ongoing investigations or White House claims of executive privilege will likely remain out of public view.

The Senate on Wednesday morning formally approved the Epstein bill, which the House passed on Tuesday. The Senate agreed to do so unanimously, meaning there would be no amendments or changes to the bill as House Speaker Mike Johnson and other members of his Republican leadership team had urged.

Johnson said on Wednesday that he was “surprised” that no amendments had been made.

“I’ve made clear for months that I believe there are serious flaws in the underlying bill, and I was hoping the Senate would work to fix and correct those flaws,” Johnson admitted. “And they decided to go in a different direction. That’s their right. I was surprised and disappointed by that.”

However, the spokesman said he did not expect Trump to veto the measure.

“Congress has spoken,” Johnson stressed. “You know the president will handle this, and there’s no delay in this at all. I mean it’s moving forward, so I’ll check the progress now.”

Trump said on Monday that he would sign the bill if it reached his desk. A senior White House official later told ABC News that the bill “will be signed when it reaches the White House.”

Trump did not need to wait for Congress to act, but could order the release immediately.

The legislation requires the release of federal records on Epstein and his convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as other individuals, including government officials, who have been named or referenced in connection with Epstein’s “criminal activities, civil settlements, immunity, plea agreements, or investigative actions,” according to the text of the legislation. Victims’ names and other identifying information would be excluded from disclosure, as would any items that might depict or contain child sexual abuse material, according to the text of the bill.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the chamber’s top Democrat, warned Trump against selectively releasing the Epstein documents, and said Democrats would hold him accountable if the bill was not faithfully implemented.

“This is not an invitation for Donald Trump to pick and choose his version of the truth,” Schumer said. “This bill is an order for the president to be completely transparent, to come clean, and to provide complete honesty to the American people even if they don’t want it.” “So I want to be clear: Anything less than full transparency will be unacceptable in the eyes of the American people. If Donald Trump refuses to comply, if he refuses to obey the law, Senate Democrats will hold him accountable.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he trusted the Justice Department’s discretion to release the Epstein files appropriately.

“I trust the judgment of the Department of Justice to ensure that any files they release clearly protect victims,” ​​Thune said. “I think there are other elements, perhaps material obtained through grand jury trials that maybe they will have to make some decisions about, but I think they will make the right decisions.”

Thune was pressed about the public split with Johnson over not amending the bill. He said he and Johnson have an “incredibly strong working relationship and work closely with the White House.”

Some Republican senators said Wednesday they believe the Justice Department will comply and not slow down the release process.

“Well, we voted on it today. The president will sign it. This should not be a new issue, so they should be ready to go. I hope, I hope they will be released immediately,” the Republican said. said Senator Jon Husted.

Republican Senator Josh Hawley — who said he was “sure” Trump would sign the bill — said he did not believe the administration would use investigations into Democrats or court seals as a way to delay the release of the files.

“I don’t think they will do that” Hawley said. “I think I would be really surprised if they tried it, given the tremendous bipartisan support for this and the president’s support, so I don’t think they would do it.”

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said that even if the Justice Department uses the investigation as an excuse not to release the files, he believes they will eventually be made public.

“There are ways to track and trace what is there “These files, and we must have a bipartisan commitment that every part of these files will be disclosed unless there is a real criminal investigation that justifies withholding them and then clarify when these files will be disclosed,” Blumenthal said.

He added: “Eventually, everything will come to light, because those investigations will end at some point, and then the current leadership of the Department of Justice will be held accountable if they fail to disclose what needs to be disclosed.”

ABC News’ John Parkinson, Lauren Peeler, Rebecca Gilbey, Michelle Stoddart, Fritz Farrow, Luke Barr and Alex Malin contributed to this report.