President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he arrives at Glasgow Prestwick Airport on July 25, 2025, in Prestwick, Scotland. (Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)
By Samuel Short July 30, 2025 at 6:06am
The Trump administration made an important move on court documents relating to late convicted sex trafficker and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Tuesday night, President Donald Trump asked two judges to release testimony given to grand juries that indicted both Epstein and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
Trump’s Department of Justice made a request for transcripts of testimony on July 18, but as Reuters reported, two judges wanted a more refined legal justification before moving forward.
The court filings just before midnight mentioned the case was subject to “abundant public interest,” making the request appropriate.
That is an understatement given how much attention Trump has garnered over his — and Attorney General Pam Bondi’s — handling of Epstein so far.
The DOJ released “Phase 1” of the Epstein files in February, with Bondi saying in the same month that Epstein’s client list was “sitting on my desk right now,” according to an interview she gave on Fox News.
In a complete reversal, Bondi stated earlier this month that there was no client list after all.
If no client list exists, why is Maxwell currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in Florida for sex trafficking charges? Did she assist Epstein in trafficking to no one?
Despite releasing security footage from inside the prison where Epstein was being held at the time of his death, this created more questions than answers since portions of the footage were cut out.
Is it time to release all the Epstein files?
Understandably, for Democrats who are searching for something substantial to attack Trump, Epstein gave them what they needed.
On July 16, California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff posted a video to social media platform X, compiling footage of Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, and Trump himself in order to blast the administration’s mishandling of the situation.
Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Katherine Clark said in a news conference last Wednesday, “Instead of standing up for kids, for families, instead of standing on the side of transparency and accountability, Republicans are running away — all to avoid the release of the Epstein client list, all to cover up for pedophiles,” according to the New York Times.
Certainly, Trump made his decision from mounting pressure from Democrats, but also from the American people.
A Washington Post poll found that 58 percent of respondents were not happy with how Trump is handling the Epstein case.
The grand jury testimony’s release would be a major step in the right direction, but the American people — and now Democrats, despite having four years under former President Joe Biden to pursue this — want a big moment from Trump.
They want arrests and prison sentences.
So yes, Trump is turning the volume down on his critics, but the energy displayed by names like Patel, Bongino, and Bondi earlier this year and prior to taking office needs to pan out in a major way.
That means justice for the victims.
Sam Short is an Instructor of History with Motlow State Community College in Smyrna, Tennessee. He holds a BA in History from Middle Tennessee State University and an MA in History from University College London. The views expressed in his articles are his own and do not reflect the views or opinions of Motlow State Community College.
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