U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks to the media as U.S. President Donald Trump listens, after the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to the power of federal judges by restricting their ability to grant broad legal relief in cases as the justices acted in a legal fight over President Donald Trump's bid to limit birthright citizenship, in the Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington D.C., June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno

Five members of Congress — Republicans and Democrats from both chambers — are demanding Attorney General Pam Bondi to provide a briefing and status update on the legally mandated release of the files related to deceased convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein by the end of this week, according to NBC News reporter Sahil Kapur.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act (H.R.4405) that passed on November 19 requires the Department of Justice to release all unclassified records related to Epstein's case by December 19.

The lawmakers who wrote a letter to Bondi dated Wednesday and first obtained by NBC News are Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK); and Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), as well as the law’s lead authors, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA.

"In light of the short 30 day deadline to release the Epstein Files, we are particularly focused on understanding the contents of any new evidence, information or procedural hurdles that could interfere with the Department’s ability meet this statutory deadline,” they wrote.

The letter also said they have a "shared interest in supporting the Department of Justice’s efforts to carry out the provisions of this critical new law.”

President Donald Trump's recent demands included investigating Democrats with connections to Epstein, including former President Bill Clinton and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.

"In the interest of transparency and clarity on the steps required to faithfully implement the Epstein Files Transparency Act, we request a briefing either in a classified or unclassified setting, to discuss the full contents of this new information in your possession at your convenience, but not later than Friday, December 5th, 2025," the lawmakers wrote.

They also added that the law should be “fully implemented with critical safeguards to protect survivors,” as is written into the statute, and, according to NBC News, urged the Justice Department to coordinate with victims and their lawyers to appropriately redact names and protect their privacy.