The world has come to know that the Epstein Files, or the Epstein List, is a thousand-page document that consists of sex crime-related investigations of Jeffrey Epstein.
After the death of Epstein in 2019, there has been debate on whether the files should be released to the public or not.
As of the second term of the Trump presidency, the call for release of the files has been a hot topic, with both conservative and democratic parties advocating for the release.
In February 2025, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi invited a group of far-right influencers to read “The Epstein Files: Phase 1,” a folder of 200 declassified documents that contained a number of retracted names and images.
However, it became clear that the folders contained little to no new information, even though the Justice Department had promised that they were “making the documents public to show [their] commitment to transparency.”
Calls for the release of the documents continued into July 2025 after news broke that Bondi had supposedly warned President Donald Trump that his name does indeed appear in the files, something he continues to deny.
The Justice Department issued a memo on the issue of the matter, claiming that there was no client list at all and that, due to the nature of Epstein’s death, there would be no more information released.
The memo was unsigned and gave no information on who disclosed this or why it was released. The purpose of this memo appeared to be to calm the media and to stop discussion on the topic.
The administration had filed for a release of the grand jury documents to calm the storm of political unrest. But even if those records became public, it is uncertain as to whether they would be sufficient evidence to back up the administration’s promise of full transparency about the evidence of the case.
At the same time, Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, and Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, teamed up on bipartisan legislation calling for the release of the Epstein files, excluding elements that would identify or harm victims.
This call was not voted on in August, and the House of Representatives was sent home early.
Later in August, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, formally issued 11 subpoenas calling for the Trump Justice Department to turn over documents and testimony from 20 years of Epstein investigations by August 19.
The deadlines for the inquiries have been set from August to mid-October 2025. Most recently, the birthday book controversy has sparked back up in September 2025.
The book was released in July 2025 as part of the Wall Street Journal reporting, which included Trump and other well-known individuals who contributed in 2003 to a 50th birthday album for Epstein.
The book included signatures from people like former president Bill Clinton, designer Vera Wang and famed attorney Alan Dershowitz.
This book has sparked new controversy due to a card that was found in the book, which has been reported to have been made by Trump.
The card depicts a lewd drawing of a woman and the words, “A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret,” as well as the signature of Trump.
After the release of the drawing, the White House issued a statement saying the president “did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it.” Trump has continued to deny that he drew the image or signed the card.
Allison Cannon is a sophomore majoring in Psychology and double minoring in Law, Justice, and Society, and Spanish.
