[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2557 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2557
To direct the Attorney General to make publicly available documents
related to Jeffrey Epstein, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 30, 2025
Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Lujan, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Schumer, Mr.
Booker, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Hickenlooper, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr.
Van Hollen, Mr. Gallego, Mr. Kim, Mr. Kelly, Ms. Alsobrooks, Mr. Welch,
Mr. Warner, Mr. Reed, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Coons, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Hirono,
Mr. Sanders, Ms. Duckworth, and Mr. Bennet) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Attorney General to make publicly available documents
related to Jeffrey Epstein, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Epstein Files Transparency Act''.
SEC. 2. RELEASE OF DOCUMENTS RELATING TO JEFFREY EPSTEIN.
(a) In General.--Subject to subsection (c), not later than 30 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall
make publicly available in a searchable and downloadable format all
unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative
materials in the possession of the Department of Justice, including the
Federal Bureau of Investigation and each United States Attorney's
Office, that relate to--
(1) Jeffrey Epstein, including all investigations,
prosecutions, or custodial matters;
(2) Ghislaine Maxwell;
(3) any flight logs or travel records, including manifests,
itineraries, pilot records, and customs or immigration
documentation, for any aircraft, vessel, or vehicle owned,
operated, or used by Jeffrey Epstein or any related entity;
(4) any individuals, including government officials, named
or referenced in connection with the criminal activities, civil
settlements, immunity or plea agreements, or investigatory
proceedings of Jeffrey Epstein;
(5) any corporate, nonprofit, academic, or governmental
entities with known or alleged ties to the trafficking or
financial networks of Jeffrey Epstein;
(6) any immunity deals, non-prosecution agreements, plea
bargains, or sealed settlements involving Jeffrey Epstein or
his associates;
(7) any internal Department of Justice communications,
including emails, memoranda, and meeting notes, concerning
decisions to charge, not charge, investigate, or decline to
investigate Jeffrey Epstein or his associates;
(8) any communications, memoranda, directives, logs, or
metadata concerning the destruction, deletion, alteration,
misplacement, or concealment of documents, recordings, or
electronic data related to Jeffrey Epstein, his associates, his
detention and death, or any investigative files; or
(9) any documentation of the detention or death of Jeffrey
Epstein, including incident reports, witness interviews,
medical examiner files, autopsy reports, and written records
detailing the circumstances and cause of death.
(b) Prohibited Grounds for Withholding.--In carrying out subsection
(a), the Attorney General may not withhold from publication, delay the
publication of, or redact any record, document, communication, or
investigative material on the basis of embarrassment, reputational
harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official,
public figure, or foreign dignitary.
(c) Permitted Withholdings.--
(1) In general.--In carrying out subsection (a), the
Attorney General may withhold from publication any record,
document, communication, or investigative material, or redact
any segregable portion of any record, document, communication,
or investigative material, that--
(A) contains personally identifiable information
from the personal or medical file of a victim or child
witness, including information the publication of which
would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy;
(B) depicts or contains child pornography, as
defined in section 2256 of title 18, United States
Code;
(C) would jeopardize an active Federal
investigation or ongoing Federal prosecution, if the
withholding or redaction is narrowly tailored and
temporary;
(D) depicts or contains any image of the death,
physical abuse, or injury of any person; or
(E) contains information that is specifically
authorized under criteria established by an Executive
order to be kept secret in the interest of national
defense or foreign policy and is properly classified
pursuant to that Executive order.
(2) Redactions.--The Attorney General shall publish in the
Federal Register and submit to Congress a written justification
for each redaction under paragraph (1).
(3) Declassification to the maximum extent possible.--
(A) In general.--The Attorney General shall
declassify, to the maximum extent possible, any
information that the Attorney General would otherwise
withhold or redact as classified information under this
section.
(B) Unclassified summary.--If the Attorney General
determines that information described in subparagraph
(A) may not be declassified and made available in a
manner that protects the national security of the
United States, including methods or sources related to
national security, the Attorney General shall make
publicly available an unclassified summary of the
information.
(4) Classification of covered information.--The Attorney
General shall publish in the Federal Register and submit to
Congress each decision made after July 1, 2025, to classify any
information that would otherwise be required to be made
publicly available under subsection (a), including the date of
classification, the identity of the classifying authority, and
an unclassified summary of the justification for
classification.
SEC. 3. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
Not later than 15 days after making publicly available all records,
documents, communications, and investigative materials under section
2(a), the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the
Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House
of Representatives a report containing--
(1) a list of each category of records, documents,
communications, and investigative materials made publicly
available or withheld;
(2) a summary of the redactions made, including the legal
basis upon which the redactions were made; and
(3) a list of each government official, public figure, or
foreign dignitary named or referenced in the records,
documents, communications, and investigative materials made
publicly available, without redaction in accordance with
section 2(b).
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