Jimmy Kimmel doesn’t think the battle to get President Donald Trump to release files related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is over just yet.
A bill calling for the release passed the House 427-1 and the Senate unanimously.
“It was such a landslide, Trump might actually be able to re-bury the Epstein files under it,” Kimmel cracked in a monologue that may have triggered a middle-of-the-night outburst by the president.
The bill went to Trump for his signature.
“Now, usually when Trump gets a bill, he declares bankruptcy and doesn’t pay it,” Kimmel said.
Trump spent much of the year working behind the scenes to block the release of files related to Epstein, who was once his close friend. In documents released last week, Trump’s name came up repeatedly. Trump was also reportedly told earlier this year by Attorney General Pam Bondi that he is mentioned in the unreleased files.
“Trump hasn’t been this nervous about signing something since Don Jr.’s birth certificate,” Kimmel said.
Trump announced on Wednesday evening that he had signed the bill, which means the Justice Department has 30 days to release the files.
However, the bill also allows the department to withhold anything that would jeopardize an ongoing investigation, and that has Kimmel concerned.
“We don’t know whether the Department of Justice will actually release all the files or if they’ll be tied up in investigations,” he said. “Specifically, investigations Trump orders to keep them tied up in investigations.”
There are also concerns that the Justice Department has been redacting and removing references to Trump and his allies ― and that what they will eventually release will be sanitized.
“Will we have the original documents, or is Trump going to pull a Taylor Swift and give us the ‘Epstein files: Donny’s version’ of the document?” Kimmel asked. “We might not ever know.”
See more in his Wednesday night monologue: