Before the 2024 presidential election, both Donald Trump and JD Vance called for the release of more files related to convicted sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein. In its first months in office, the new Trump administration has promised more transparency in government — but it hasn't released any trove of "Epstein files" that supporters have demanded.
Epstein was found dead six years ago in the Metropolitan Correctional Center, the federal detention facility where he was being held in Manhattan. Officials later concluded he died by suicide — but public skepticism about his death persists.
The names of a number of powerful figures have already appeared in documents related to Epstein's case that have been released, including President Trump and former President Bill Clinton, both of whom socialized with Epstein. But as NPR and other outlets have noted, appearing in Epstein's flight logs and other records is not an indication of wrongdoing.
Many Trump supporters see the unreleased files as an unfulfilled promise. Prominent Republicans from House Speaker Mike Johnson to former Vice President Mike Pence have called for more transparency on the Epstein case, along with influential right-wing conspiracy promoters, including media figures such as Tucker Carlson and Laura Loomer.
Here's a brief timeline of the Trump administration's shifting tone and actions on the Epstein case.
Feb. 21: Attorney General Pam Bondi says the Epstein client list is "sitting on my desk" in an appearance on Fox News, in response to a question from John Roberts.
"The DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients? Will that really happen?" Roberts asks Bondi.
"It's sitting on my desk right now to review. That's been a directive by President Trump. I'm reviewing that," the attorney general replies.
Bondi later says she was referring to the Epstein files, not a client list. But her remark has echoed through discussions of the Epstein story so far this year.
Feb. 27: The White House gives binders to far-right influencers bearing a Department of Justice seal and labels reading, "Epstein Files: Phase 1" and "Declassified." But much of the information turns out to have been released before, and Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, chairwoman of the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, calls it "old info."
July 7: The Justice Department releases a memo saying it has found "no incriminating 'client list'" for Epstein, contradicting Bondi's February statement. The agency says it turned up more than 300 gigabytes of data and physical evidence. It also states that "Epstein harmed over one thousand victims." But the DOJ says those victims' sensitive information is "intertwined" in the materials and it concludes "no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted."
The memo addresses several hot topics on social media. In addition to rebutting the notion of a client list, it says there's no credible evidence that Epstein blackmailed prominent figures or that his death was anything other than a case of suicide.
July 12: "We're on one Team, MAGA, and I don't like what's happening," Trump says on Truth Social in response to his supporters' criticisms of Bondi. The president accuses critics of trying to hurt his administration, "all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein."
People should let Bondi do her job, Trump says, "and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about."
July 15: Bondi refuses to address questions about her handling of the Epstein files. Trump voices his support, saying his attorney general has "really done a very good job."
Trump also suggests people who are fixated on Epstein should move on: "He's dead for a long time. He was never a big factor in terms of life. I don't understand what the interest or what the fascination is, I really don't. And the credible information's been given."
July 16: Trump lashes out at fellow Republicans for fixating on Epstein, calling it a hoax.
"It's all been a big hoax. It's perpetrated by the Democrats and some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net. And so they try and do the Democrats' work," Trump tells reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump also suggests he would approve of Bondi releasing some Epstein documents if they meet a standard: "Whatever's credible, she can release. If a document is credible, if a document's there that is credible, she can release."
As NPR's Dominico Montanaro later reports, it's one of many instances of Trump emphasizing that "credible evidence" from the Epstein records should be shared.
July 17: Trump slams The Wall Street Journal after the paper publishes what it says is a risqué birthday note Trump wrote to celebrate Epstein's 50th birthday, stating, "the supposed letter they printed by President Trump to Epstein was a FAKE."
"These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don't draw pictures," Trump writes on Truth Social.
July 18: Trump files a defamation lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal over its coverage of his relationship with Epstein, including the birthday note that Trump says he didn't write.
On the same day, the DOJ files a motion in the Southern District of New York to unseal grand jury testimony related to Epstein's 2019 indictment charging him with sex trafficking offenses, citing "extensive public interest" following the agency's July 6 memo.
The DOJ later asks to unseal related exhibits, including a PowerPoint presentation and four pages of call logs.
The agency files similar motions in New York regarding the criminal case against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's longtime partner who was sentenced to a 20-year prison term, as well as in Florida, where Epstein agreed to a plea deal with U.S. prosecutors in 2007 over the abuse of minor girls.
July 19: Trump posts on Truth Social about his administration's grand jury request, saying he "asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval."
July 22: Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche says he is talking with Maxwell's lawyer and expects to meet with her, at Bondi's direction. Trump says he thinks the plan "sounds appropriate."
July 23: The Wall Street Journal reports that Bondi and other Justice Department officials told Trump in May that his name "is among many in the Epstein files." The newspaper says the officials feel the files contain "unverified hearsay" about hundreds of people, including Trump, who were in the same social orbit as Epstein.
The same day, federal judge Robin Rosenberg in Florida denies release of grand jury transcripts related to Epstein.
July 24: Blanche meets with Maxwell in prison for two days, according to Democratic senators. The DOJ says it's mulling whether to release transcripts of their meeting.
July 29: Trump says he and Epstein had a falling out over Epstein hiring girls from his Mar-a-Lago resort, resulting in Epstein being kicked out. A prominent Epstein accuser, the late Virginia Giuffre, had said she was a teenager working at Mar-a-Lago when she first met Maxwell and Epstein.
Aug. 1: The Bureau of Prisons says it has moved Maxwell from a low-security prison in Tallahassee, Fla., to a women's minimum-security prison camp in Bryan, Texas.
Aug. 5: The House Oversight Committee subpoenas the Department of Justice for records related to Epstein and Maxwell. It seeks "all documents and communications relating or referring to" the pair and their respective court cases, setting a deadline of Aug. 19.
Aug. 11: Federal judge Paul Engelmayer in New York denies Bondi's request to unseal grand jury materials from the Maxwell case, saying most of the records are already public. In a rebuke to the DOJ, the judge adds that an observer "might conclude that the Government's motion for their unsealing was aimed not at 'transparency' but at diversion — aimed not at full disclosure but at the illusion of such."
Aug. 18: House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., says the DOJ will send the first batch of Epstein documents to the panel on Aug. 22, three days after the committee's original deadline. "It will take the Department time to produce all the records and ensure the identification of victims and any child sexual abuse material are redacted," Comer says.
Aug. 20: Federal judge Richard M. Berman denies Bondi's request to unseal records related to the Epstein case in New York, citing longstanding precedents of keeping grand jury proceedings secret and stating that the government did not prove "special circumstances" that might justify unsealing the records.
Aug. 22: The DOJ is scheduled to begin handing over files to the House Oversight Committee.
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