During the election campaign, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance promised their supporters that, if elected, they would release Justice Department files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Donald Trump listens as First Lady Melania Trump speaks at a signing ceremony for the “Furthering the Future” executive order in the East Room of the White House on November 13, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Since then, however, the administration has been reluctant to release more details about the investigation or release all the files, angering some Republicans and Democrats and raising questions about Trump’s past connections to Epstein.
Here’s a timeline of major developments related to the Epstein files saga since Trump returned to office.
February 21, 2025
In an interview with Fox News, Attorney General Pam Bondi was asked about Jeffrey Epstein’s client list and whether the Justice Department planned to release them.
Bondi responded: “It’s on my desk right now for review.”
In this Aug. 25, 2025, file photo, Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a news conference in New York.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images, FILE
The attorney general clarified in July that she was referring to the Epstein case files and not an alleged list of clients.
February 27, 2025
The Department of Justice invites conservative bloggers and influencers and shares with them folders called “The Epstein Files: Phase 1.” Most of the evidence had already been made public.
In this Feb. 27, 2025 file photo, political commentator Rogan O’Handley, also known as DC Draino, TikToker Chaya Raichik, conservative activist Scott Presler, commentator Liz Wheeler and conservative political commentator Chad Prather carry folders stamped by the U.S. Department of Justice that read “The Epstein Files: Phase 1” as they leave the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
Bondi and her team did not inform White House officials in advance that she planned to distribute the folders, sources briefed on the event told ABC News.
May 8, 2025
The House Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets demanded the release of Epstein’s files in a letter to Bondi.
Bondi did not respond to the request by the May 16 deadline.
July 7, 2025
The Justice Department and the FBI issued a joint statement stating that a review of his holdings uncovered no evidence of any client lists maintained by Epstein or other evidence that could predicate a criminal investigation of the unindicted parties.
The department also released hours of alleged footage as part of its review, which officials said further confirmed that Epstein committed suicide while in custody in his Manhattan cell in 2019.
It was later determined that footage was missing from the Bureau of Prisons video showing the moments before Epstein’s death. Several conservative influencers criticize Bondi and the Justice Department for the memo.
July 12, 2025
Trump defended Bondi in a social media post amid pushback from some in his MAGA base over his handling of the Epstein investigation.
Trump praised Bondi for doing a “fantastic job” and urged his “boys” and “girls” to stop criticizing her.
July 15, 2025
Republican Representative Thomas Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna are seeking a House vote on a discharge petition to release Epstein’s files.
House Speaker Mike Johnson leaves the chamber to speak to reporters after the final vote to end the longest government shutdown in history, at the Capitol in Washington, DC, on November 12, 2025.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
The same day, House Speaker Mike Johnson asked Bondi to “come forward and explain” his handling of the investigation.
Signatures for the petition continue to grow, however, they do not reach the 218 needed to move forward.
When asked what Bondi told him about the review of Epstein’s files and whether his name came up, Trump responded, “No, no, she just gave us a very quick briefing,” before making unfounded claims that the files were created by some of his political enemies.
“Anything she thinks is credible, she should release it,” Trump said.
July 24 and 25, 2025
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former personal lawyer, interviewed Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for her 2021 conviction on sex trafficking and other charges. related to Epstein’s illicit activities.
Family members of Virginia Giuffre speak during a rally in support of the victims of disgraced financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein outside the United States Capitol, September 3, 2025, in Washington, DC
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images, FILE
Maxwell initiated the meeting, multiple sources told ABC News.
A month later, the Justice Department released a transcript of the interview, which was not sworn, stating that there was no client list.
August 1, 2025
Maxwell was transferred from a federal prison in Florida, classified as “low security,” to a federal prison camp in Texas, classified as “minimum security,” the Justice Department announced.
September 8, 2025
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released a 238-page PDF document of the 50th birthday book to Epstein that includes a foreword by Maxwell and a page supposedly written by Trump.
In this Sept. 17, 2025, file photo, Rep. Jamie Raskin references an alleged drawing of Donald Trump made for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday, as FBI Director Kash Patel testified during the House Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” at the Rayburn Building in Washington, DC.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images, FILE
Trump’s page features a typed letter written inside a scrawl of a woman’s body, with his signature placed in a provocative location on the body.
The president denied writing and signing the letter.
November 12, 2025
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released emails that were part of more than 20,000 from Epstein’s estate.
Some of the messages show Epstein talking about Trump, including one in which he claims Trump “spent hours at my house” with one of the sex trafficking victims.
In this Sept. 8, 2004, file photo, Jeffrey Epstein is shown in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty Images, FILE
The White House accused Democrats on the House Oversight Committee of publishing “emails selectively leaked to liberal media to create a false narrative” about Trump.
Later that night, Arizona Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva was sworn in, a month after winning a special election, and became the final signature on the discharge petition to surpass the 218 threshold.
Johnson announced that he would vote on a bill to make Jeffrey Epstein’s files public next week.
