After President Donald Trump signed the bill to release the Epstein Files — which he has repeatedly called “a Democrat hoax” — Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has equivocated about the existence of an Epstein “client list,” said the Department of Justice will release the files within 30 days.
Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky responded to the 30 day delay announcement by sharing a post on social media that says: “somehow, when congress voted to release the starr report, it was online within 48 hours…if not less.”
[The Starr Report was written by Independent Counsel Ken Starr, who was charged with investigating President Bill Clinton. The 445-page report famously detailed Clinton’s sexual relationship with Lewinsky. It was submitted to Congress and released to the public in 1998, before the prevalence of social media platforms.]
— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@MonicaLewinsky) November 20, 2025
Lewinsky’s comparison of the respective release timing of the Starr Report and the Epstein Files is interesting, but it also represents a case of apples and oranges in some respects.
The Starr Report was a single document, while the Epstein files are a trove of separate, if related, documents, tens of thousands of which — still reportedly only a small percentage — have so far been sent from the DOJ to the House Oversight Committee and made public. By way of comparison, Starr did not release all the supporting documents and evidence that went into his investigation, which would have resembled more closely the planned release of the Epstein files.
In addition, the 30 day deadline — though the DOJ is free to do it sooner — is written into the bill compelling the release of the files, which was passed by the House and Senate.
The bill, known as the Epstein Files Transparency Act, says the DOJ has up to 30 days from its signing to 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 United States Attorneys’ Offices, that relate to Jeffrey Epstein including all investigations, prosecutions, or custodial matters.”
[NOTE: Trump did not need a bill from Congress in order to release the files — he could have released them at any time.]
Many X users are responding to Lewinsky’s post by claiming the Trump administration needs 30 days “to redact every mention of Trump and Republican politicians and their various billionaire backers…Far too much to try and black out in just 48 hours.” Another skeptic added: “Guess they’re hoping we’ll all lose interest in the next month or so….”
Another noted the timing: “So right in the middle of XMAS season. They’ll either have a continuance or release whatever they want on a Friday night dump. Why do they need an extra 30 days? They’ve had it for months.”