For years, figures in Trump’s movement said the government was hiding a list of Epstein’s powerful clients. In February 2025 Attorney General Bondi said the list was “sitting on my desk right now” to review. In July the Justice Department and FBI said in a two-page memo that their review found no incriminating client list, no credible evidence that Epstein blackmailed powerful people, and no reason to doubt he killed himself. Bondi later said she had meant the case file in general. [1][2]
The backlash came from Trump’s own base. Trump called the furor a “hoax” pushed by Democrats and urged supporters to move on. In 2024 he had hedged on releasing the files. [1][3]
In November 2025 a discharge petition led by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie and Democrat Ro Khanna gathered enough signatures to force a House vote. Two days before it, Trump reversed and told Republicans to vote yes. The bill passed 427–1, cleared the Senate unanimously, and he signed it on 19 November. Days earlier he had asked the department to investigate Epstein’s ties to Bill Clinton and other Democrats. [4][5][6][7]
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