Will DoJ pass the Epstein transparency test or fail the MAGA movement?
Donald Trump has launched a full-scale takeover of the department in his second term, using it as an instrument to pursue his political opponents.
This has forced out a large number of senior employees and prosecutors, with the move being justified as a response to the weaponisation of the DoJ against Mr Trump by the previous Biden administration.
However, the DoJ now finds itself in new territory.
On one hand, the President’s powerful MAGA political constituency will be looking to it for answers on the Epstein files.
It is seeking justice for survivors, greater transparency and greater accountability for powerful people who have done the wrong thing.
This issue is also seen as a litmus test for the restoration of trust and confidence in the DoJ itself.
Speaking outside the Capitol Building on Tuesday morning local time (Wednesday AEDT) along with the Epstein survivors, Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia said the crucial challenge would come following the passage of the legislation.
“The real test will be – will the Department of Justice release the files?” she said. “Or will it all remain tied up in investigations?”
“That’s information that needs to come out. And will the list of names that these woman privately hold … come out?”
On the other hand, the DoJ knows that Trump committed only to signing the legislation into law as a political hostage at the 11th hour after unsuccessfully attempting to scuttle the House of Representatives vote for weeks.
The President continues to publicly rubbish the entire issue as a Democrat “hoax”.
And he reversed his position last weekend, encouraging Republicans to support the Epstein legislation, as a tactic to avoid the appearance of the house GOP openly defying him.
Pressed on the issue by a journalist during the White House visit of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Mr Trump expressed his frustration.
“I have nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein. I threw him out of my club many years ago because I thought he was a sick pervert,” Mr Trump said.
“I guess I turned out to be right.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson also said the passage of the legislation by 427 votes to one was nothing more than a “political show vote”.
These comments are unlikely to instil confidence in Republicans hoping for greater transparency from the DoJ.
Haley Robson – one of the Epstein survivors – declared on Tuesday: “I am traumatised. I am not stupid.”
Addressing Mr Trump, she said: “I can’t help (but) to be sceptical of what the agenda is.
“You have put us through so much stress … and then get upset when your own party goes against you because what is being done is wrong.”
The text of the Epstein Transparency Act lists the various documents being sought and clarifies that no record should be withheld on the “basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity”.
But it does list several grounds for permitted withholdings including allowing the US Attorney-General, Pam Bondi, to make redactions to protect victims’ privacy, uphold national security and ensure that federal investigations are not jeopardised.
How the DoJ and Ms Bondi navigate the conflicting political imperatives around the release of the Epstein files will be closely monitored.
Yet Mr Trump and Ms Bondi will be aware that, in the highly charged political environment in the US, there will be many people – including those within their own MAGA movement – looking for high-profile scalps.
They will be suspicious if none are seen to emerge.
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The US congress has come together in a moment of fleeting consensus over the Epstein Files Transparency Act, but the political focus will shift to how the Department of Justice will respond.