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The Snags That Could Prevent The Disclosure Of The Full Epstein Files

President Donald Trump made a stunning eleventh-hour reversal over the weekend, encouraging House Republicans to vote in favor of legislation to release the full Jeffrey Epstein files, an effort he previously sought to quash.

But a provision included in the bill could still enable the president to block the publication of the documents, including those pertaining to himself and his relationship with the late sexual predator.

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While the House of Representatives was expected to overwhelmingly approve the bill Tuesday, upping the pressure on the Senate to follow suit, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a loyal supporter-turned-target of Trump, said the “real test” lies ahead.

“The real test will be, will the Department of Justice release the files, or will it all remain tied up in investigations? Will the CIA release the files? Will ... a judge in New York release the information?” she asked Tuesday.

Trump could have already asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to release the full trove of documents the Justice Department holds on Epstein.

“The whole notion that a piece of legislation or a bill is necessary to release the files is, it’s really a farce, because the DOJ can release the files on its own, or it can fight and refuse to release the files,” Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and current president and cofounder of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told HuffPost.

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While Trump has suggested he would sign the legislation into law if it cleared both chambers of Congress, that doesn’t mean the full files would be made public. Bondi could use a provision included in the bill to block their release, a concern voiced by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), one of the cosponsors of the legislation.

“If they have ongoing investigations in certain areas, those documents can’t be released,” Massie told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “So this might be a big smokescreen, these investigations, to open a bunch of them to, as a last-ditch effort, to prevent the release of the Epstein files.”

Massie made an apparent reference to Trump’s request on Friday to have Bondi investigate the ties prominent Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, had to the late sex offender. Bondi swiftly complied, announcing that she’s tasked Southern District of New York U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton to lead the probe.

President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi listen as FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during an event in the Oval Office at the White House last month in Washington, D.C.

The House bill’s carveout gives Bondi considerable latitude to withhold documents, former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade told MS NOW.

“That gives Attorney General Pam Bondi a huge exception to hide behind for withholding certain documents, possibly even documents that pertain to Trump,” McQuade added.

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Jeremy Paul, a law professor and former dean of Northeastern University’s School of Law, agreed, telling HuffPost this is a “real possibility.”

“I think it is naive to expect that the Trump administration will release any information that’s damaging to President Trump,” Paul said, unless it’s done “inadvertently.”

“In other words, if he discloses things that don’t seem to him or his lawyers as if they are damaging, but when subject to public scrutiny, they suddenly become damaging,” Paul continued. “That’s the only way that I can see this leading to anything that really will ultimately be harmful to President Trump.”

During his second presidency, Trump has pushed the bounds of executive power, including with his choice to order the Justice Department not to enforce the TikTok ban, a law that has been upheld by the Supreme Court. Trump has already extended the deadline for ByteDance to comply with the law requiring it to divest from TikTok or see the popular platform get banned in the U.S. four times since he was sworn in to office.

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Rahmani said there’s a “legitimate concern” that Trump could act similarly in this case.

“If there’s a law on the books that isn’t enforced, there’s not a whole lot Congress can do to compel the executive branch to enforce the law,” Rahmani added.

Rahmani, though, predicted the files would ultimately be made public in their entirety. However, he expressed doubt that their release would “move the needle” legally.

“Even if there’s some very serious political consequences and reputational harm, I don’t think the release of the Epstein files will result in any criminal prosecution or civil liability, without a new victim that we’re unaware of,” Rahmani said.