Signing Ceremony & Effective Date
From: U.S. CongressTo: Public Law
Signing EventEffective Date180-Day Countdown
EPSTEIN FILES TRANSPARENCY ACT — PUBLIC LAW
Signed: November 19, 2025
Vote: House 427-1, Senate by unanimous consent
SUMMARY:
The Epstein Files Transparency Act mandated that the Department of Justice release all documents in its possession related to the investigation and prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein and his associates.
KEY PROVISIONS:
- DOJ required to release all Epstein-related documents within 180 days
- Includes FBI investigative files, prosecution records, and internal communications
- Limited exceptions for classified national security information and CSAM
- Victim privacy protections for victim-identifying information
- Established an oversight board to monitor compliance
- Created a public reading room at the National Archives
- Required the DOJ to certify compliance to Congress
MODELED ON:
The legislation was modeled on the JFK Records Act, which governed the release of documents related to President Kennedy's assassination.
IMPLEMENTATION:
- December 19, 2025: First batch of documents released (heavily redacted)
- January 30, 2026: 3.5 million pages released in second batch
- Additional releases ongoing
Source: Congress.gov
Available at: https://www.congress.gov/
The Epstein Case in 2025
In February 2025, the Justice Department released "Epstein Files: Phase 1", including a flight-log exhibit, a redacted contact book and an evidence list, much of it previously public. After a July 2025 DOJ-FBI memo said no further disclosure was warranted, Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie introduced the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The House passed it 427-1 on November 18, 2025, it became law on November 19, and it required the Justice Department to publish its Epstein records within 30 days; the first production followed on December 19, 2025.
All 2025 documents in the timeline →