President of the United States Donald Trump stated that he has signed the bill that mandates the publication of the files from the case of deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, but the Department of Justice (DOJ) has not specified when and how they will be released.
In his lengthy message on Truth Social, before informing about the bill's signing, Trump linked Epstein to the Democrats, saying he donated money to them "his whole life" and emphasized his relationship with former President Bill Clinton and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
The head of state took credit for the bill's approval in both chambers of Congress, ensuring that the unanimous vote led by the Republican party was his explicit personal order.
Trump, who had previously been opposed to the release of the files, changed his stance after last week's publication of a series of 20,000 emails from Epstein in which the pedophile claimed the Republican tycoon spent "hours" with one of the victims.
The publication dealt a new blow to Trump, who a week earlier had called the Democrats' sweeping victory in key local elections for governorships and mayorships across the country a "defeat" for his party.
All of this happened against the backdrop of the 43-day government shutdown, the longest in the country's history.
When will they be published?
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the DOJ will release the documents related to financier Jeffrey Epstein within 30 days of the bill's approval, which mandates their disclosure.
Bondi emphasized that the publication will be done "following the law and promoting maximum transparency," though she warned that some documents may not be made public if their release would affect ongoing investigations or the protection of minor trafficking victims.
Bondi recalled that more than 33,000 documents have already been provided to Congress and that victims will continue to be protected during the release of the files.
The official refused to provide details on the nature of the "new information" that motivated the reopening of certain investigative lines related to Epstein, citing that these are active processes in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and that no further comments can be made at this time.
Trump's Popularity Declines
Following the publication of the files that suggest a possible complicity by Trump in supposedly knowing Epstein's crimes, various media outlets conducted polls of U.S. citizens, showing the lowest approval rating since his return to the White House last January.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll, published this Tuesday, showed that President Donald Trump's approval has dropped to 38%, and the disapproval was linked to the surveyed public's belief that the president and his administration have concealed details of the Epstein case.
The poll, conducted over four days between November 14 and 17, also reveals that disapproval toward Trump has increased significantly, with 59% of respondents expressing a negative assessment of his performance.
Even within his own party, the president appears to be losing momentum: support among Republican voters fell from 87% in a previous poll to 82%, according to the same survey.
Meanwhile, a recent Fox News poll, conducted from November 14 to 17 among 1,005 registered voters, points to a 58% disapproval of Trump, with only 41% approving of his performance.
The files, without a set date for publication, have reached the president, accelerating his authorization for their release after more than five years of pressure from Democrats, activists, and the family of the pedophile who died in prison.
