President Trump has signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act, but there are questions about a potential loophole that the Department of Justice may utilize to prevent a full release. CBS News' Ed O'Keefe reports.

Washington

President Trump has signed legislation mandating the release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein, giving the Department of Justice 30 days to produce documents such as witness interviews, flight logs, and immunity deals. However, a provision in the law allows the attorney general to withhold information if it pertains to ongoing investigations, raising questions about the extent of the release.

A new Justice Department investigation into Epstein has begun, following the president's directive to examine links to Democratic Party officials. While some figures, including former President Bill Clinton and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, have denied wrongdoing or faced no evidence of illegal conduct, the ongoing scrutiny and potential withholding of documents may prolong political controversy.

Potential loophole in the Epstein files bill that Trump signed

All right, let's turn to the White House, where President Trump has signed the bill authorizing the release of the Epstein files. The Department of Justice is now on the clock to produce those documents, but it is unclear if all of the files will be released. So let's bring in CBS News senior White House and political correspondent Ed O'Keefe to talk more about this from the front lawn of the White House. All right, Ed, I heard you this morning on CBS Mornings. What are we expecting to see in those documents? And could there be some details left out? Well, good to see you Vlad. President signed it late last night, about 30 days now until the Justice Department has to release them. And we're anticipating it will include things like witness interviews, flight logs, other information potentially on immunity deals that were reached with various individuals and other details regarding the victims and their alleged perpetrators or customers, people who may have engaged with these underage girls in one way or another. And so that's sort of the bulk of what's expected. But then there's the question of whether everything will be released. And there's a loophole in the new law that says the attorney general can withhold information, at least temporarily, should it be part of an ongoing investigation into all things Epstein. And there is now another one underway. She confirmed that after the president called on DOJ to launch one last week, they are now looking into more information regarding Epstein. People who knew him, the president specifically said, go after Democratic Party officials like former President Bill Clinton, the former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. Clinton has denied any wrongdoing. There's no evidence of illegal conduct in the case of Summers, though he's resigned from his board position at OPA and AI and is no longer teaching at Harvard because of his past associations with Epstein. So we'll see if ultimately there's a lot withheld. And if that's the case, then this just continues. And both parties may see political advantage in having it continue, because if there's an investigation looking into Democrats, Republicans might argue it's bad for them. But the longer this goes on, it drags down the president and his administration, distracts from other things they're trying to get done. Yeah, except that, as you know, Ed, Democrats have been fully in support of releasing these files without any loopholes or without any further investigations. And I think it's remarkable that the DOJ a few years ago said that there was nothing left to investigate. Now the president is suggesting that there is. So he signs this bill. He could have done it before an act of Congress. He didn't. He signs this bill now. And so what is he expecting will happen next? Well, he himself hasn't necessarily said what specifically he expects to come out of these documents, other than to say that he thinks this will blow up in the face of the Democratic Party, given how many people were associated with him and the fact that Epstein was known to be a pretty active Democratic Party activist and fundraiser. But again, we know the current president, former businessman, former Manhattan socialite himself, was someone who spent a lot of time with Epstein back in the day. So his associations are well documented as well. All right, Ed O'Keefe for us at the White House this morning. Ed, thank you, my friend. Appreciate you.

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Ukraine Invasion

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