Record / E-2026-0006
Epstein Files Transparency Act signed into law
The Epstein Files Transparency Act, H.R. 4405, passed the House 427 to 1 on November 18, 2025, Roll no. 289, and the Senate by unanimous consent on November 19, 2025. Trump signed it November 19, 2025 as Public Law 119-38. The act required the Attorney General to make publicly available, in a searchable and downloadable format, all unclassified Epstein records in the Department of Justice's possession within 30 days, setting a deadline of December 19, 2025. It has been compared to the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992; unlike that act, it established no independent review board.
Context
This entry is marked verified_modified because the earlier characterization that the act was modeled on the JFK Records Act could not be confirmed in any source read at intake; the supported statement is the comparison, with the noted difference that the JFK act established a review board and this act did not. Some sources dated the signing November 20, 2025; the congress.gov action list and the statute's own approval line both record November 19, 2025. The Senate acted under an order entered November 18, which explains why some accounts date Senate passage a day early. Compliance with the act became the subject of separate litigation and is recorded in that entry rather than characterized here.
Sources
The document identifier is the citation. The URL is a resolution mechanism, and the archived copy is what the citation resolves to when the live link dies.
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H.R. 4405, 119th Congress, Epstein Files Transparency Act
H.R. 4405, 119th Congress; Became Public Law No. 119-38, November 19, 2025
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Public Law 119-38, statute text, GovInfo
Public Law 119-38; approval line Approved November 19, 2025
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House Roll Call 289, 119th Congress, 1st Session
Roll no. 289, November 18, 2025; 427 yea, 1 nay, 5 not voting
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Epstein files release breeds more conspiracy theories, even less trust, NPR
NPR, January 2, 2026