Opinion | Don’t Miss This: Epstein Edition

A lot happened this week. “The U.S. has ramped up its military presence in the region.” “The case against former F.B.I. director James Comey may be in jeopardy.” “I grabbed that hand. I don’t give a hell where that hand’s been.” Here’s one thing you shouldn’t miss. On Tuesday, the House and Senate passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and the president has signed it into law. Which means the Justice Department now has less than 30 days to release all of their files on Epstein. More on that asterisk in a second. “Trump has now signed the Epstein files bill into law.” Of course, you didn’t miss that news. And at first glance, it’s a win. A chance for the public to know exactly who participated in these awful crimes. For powerful people to be held accountable for their friendship with a sexual predator. And for Epstein’s victims to get the answers that many of them have called for after an investigation that has spanned two decades. All of those outcomes are still possible. But don’t lose sight of the fact that all of this has come at a cost to the American justice system. As with so many things, the president has put his own interests over the nation’s at every step of the way. So now the question is: When those files are released, will Americans be able to fully trust them? Because while the public has long wanted justice in the Epstein case, President Trump has been more focused on himself. One minute Trump is demanding the files be released. “I want a full investigation. That’s what I absolutely am demanding.” “Would you declassify the Epstein files?” “Yeah, yeah, I would.” Then … “Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released ——” “Emails that they say were written by Jeffrey Epstein.” “Including one that says, ‘He knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.’” As it became clearer just how much the president may have known about Epstein’s abuses, he ordered A.G. Pam Bondi to launch an investigation focused on Democrats. “Clearly, this is a political exercise for Democrats and a few others, sadly.” And not surprisingly, he changed his tune all over again when it looked like Congress would defy him anyway. “The yeas are 427. The nays are 1.” This whole saga has been nothing but a political game to Trump. Nothing makes that more obvious than how Congress forced Trump’s hand. Because if he really wanted to release the files, he could have ordered the Department of Justice to do so long ago. “I mean, I’m the chief law enforcement officer of the country.” So, again, when these files are released, will Americans be able to fully trust them? Probably not. That’s because the bill includes a list of permitted withholdings, things the Justice Department is allowed to keep out of the releases. Some of those make sense, like redacting the victims’ personal information. But the Justice Department can also withhold information in the interest of an active federal investigation or prosecution, national defense or foreign policy. Those are broad categories that allow the D.O.J. a lot of wiggle room. And that’s important because these decisions will be made by a department that Trump has spent the entire year corrupting. As much as we want answers, this administration has proven time and again they cannot be trusted with the truth. A lot happened this week. “The U.S. has ramped up its military presence in the region.” “The case against former FBI Director James Comey may be in jeopardy.” “I grab that hand. I don’t give a hell where that hand’s been.” Here’s one thing you shouldn’t miss. On Tuesday, the House and Senate passed the Epstein FilesTransparency Act, and the president has signed it into law. Which means the Justice Department now has less than 30 days to release all of their files on Epstein. More on that asterix in a second. “Trump has now signed the Epstein Files Bill.” Of course, you didn’t miss that news. And at first glance, it’s a win. A chance for the public to know exactly who participated in these awful crimes. For powerful people to be held accountable for their friendships with a sexual predator. And for Epstein’s victims to get the answers that many of them have called for after an investigation that has spanned two decades. All of those outcomes are still possible. But don’t lose sight of the fact that all of this has come at a cost to the American justice system. As with so many things, the president has put his own interests over the nation’s at every step of the way. So now the question is when those files are released, will Americans be able to fully trust them? Because while the public has long wanted justice in the Epstein case, President Trump has been more focused on himself. At every turn, he’s used the Department of Justice and the attorney general who leads it to his own political ends. One minute Trump is demanding the files be released. “I want a full investigation That’s what I absolutely am demanding.” “Would you declassify the Epstein files?” “Yeah, yeah, I would.” Then … “Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released emails that they say were written by Jeffrey Epstein.” “Including one that says, quote, ‘He knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.’” As it became clearer just how much the president may have known about Epstein’s abuses, he ordered AG Pam Bondi to launch an investigation focused on Democrats. “Clearly, this is a political exercise for Democrats and a few others, sadly.” And not surprisingly, he changed his tune all over again when it looked like Congress would defy him anyway. “The yays are 427. The nays are one.” This whole saga has been nothing but a political game to Trump. He’s never cared about justice, and especially not for Epstein’s victims. “The little girl struggling to get by at 14 and 15 years old, finally has a voice.” Nothing makes that more obvious than how Congress forced Trump’s hand. Because if he really wanted to release the files, he could have ordered the Department of Justice to do so long ago. “Sure, I mean, I’m the chief law enforcment officer of the country.” So again, when these files are released, will Americans be able to fully trust them? Probably not. That’s because the bill includes a list of permitted withholdings, things the Justice Department is allowed to keep out of the releases. Some of those make sense, like redacting the victim’s personal information. But the Justice Department can also withhold information in the interest of an active federal investigation or prosecution. National defense or foreign policy. Those are broad categories that allow the DOJ a lot of wiggle room. And that’s important because these decisions will be made by a department that Trump has spent the entire year corrupting. As much as we want answers. This administration has proven time and again they cannot be trusted with the truth.