119-s2557

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2557 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

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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