Bill lets victims and states sue for hidden Epstein records.
S. 5005 — Epstein Files Transparency Act II · Filed by Jeff Merkley (D-OR) · 1 cosponsor · Introduced Jul 15, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
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What it does
The bill lets victims, state lawyers, and Congress members sue the Attorney General. They can sue if he hides, covers up, or delays Epstein records. The Justice Department must give full records to victims and state police. The Attorney General cannot use legal reasons to keep records secret as easily. DOJ workers who hide or fake records can face criminal charges.
Who it affects
Victims of Epstein gain the right to sue for records. State lawyers and police can sue and get full records. Congress members get a faster way to see all records. DOJ workers face criminal penalties for hiding or faking records.
One thing to notice
Congress members get unredacted records within seven days, with a 30-day fix period before a lawsuit can start. State police can now keep and use full Epstein records in cases and court filings.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.
- Jul 15, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Jul 15, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (17,164 characters) on Aug 14, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,707 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-23.
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