Trump signs bill to release Epstein files

US President Donald Trump signed into law on Wednesday legislation requiring the release of government records on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, spurring a showdown over whether the US president will allow full disclosure - or return to trying to bury the case.

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Trump stunned Washington over the weekend, reversing his months-long opposition to the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and ensuring that it sailed through Congress on Tuesday in a rare show of bipartisan unity.

The Republican president, a former friend of the late sex offender, announced on social media late on Wednesday that he had signed the bill, forgoing any media spectacle of the event.

Insiders warn that even with the president's signature, his administration could lean on redactions, procedural delays or lingering federal investigations to keep explosive details out of the public eye.