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Donald Trump declared on Wednesday evening that he had endorsed the bill decisively endorsed by Congress members that directs the federal justice agency to release more records related to Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased pedophile.

This decision arrives after an extended period of resistance from the leader and his political allies in the House and Senate that split his political supporters and created rifts with some of his longtime supporters.

Trump had fought against making public the Epstein files, describing the situation a "fabrication" and railing against those who sought to release the files available, despite pledging their release on the campaign trail.

However he changed direction in the past few days after it was evident the House of Representatives would approve the measure. Trump said: "We have nothing to hide".

It's not clear what the agency will make public in response to the measure – the bill details a variety of possible documents that need to be disclosed, but includes exemptions for some materials.

Trump Endorses Measure to Force Disclosure of Further Epstein Documents

The bill mandates the top justice official to make non-classified Epstein-related documents open for review "in a searchable and downloadable format", covering each examination into Jeffrey Epstein, his colleague Maxwell, travel documentation and travel records, people cited or listed in association with his illegal activities, entities that were linked to his human trafficking or financial networks, exemption arrangements and further court deals, internal communications about charging decisions, evidence of his imprisonment and passing, and details about any file deletions.

The department will have thirty days to turn over the documents. The legislation provides for specific exclusions, including removals of victims' identifying information or private records, any depictions of youth molestation, disclosures that would jeopardize current examinations or court proceedings and representations of demise or exploitation.

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