US President Donald Trump has directed the justice department to produce additional material linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, following intense public pressure from some of his core supporters. In a post on social media, Trump said he had instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to make available grand jury testimony related to Epstein, pending court approval.

“Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval,” said Trump.

It remains unclear whether the president's directive includes plans to publicly release the material, or when such disclosures might happen. In most cases, grand jury records can only be unsealed with a judge’s approval.

Bondi confirmed the directive shortly after Trump’s announcement, saying, “We are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts.” Her statement came amid growing pressure from Trump’s political base, which has been calling for more disclosures in the Epstein case.

A grand jury is a panel that determines if there is enough evidence for formal charges to be brought against a suspect. Its decisions, however, must still go through trial proceedings in court for a conviction to occur.

It is not yet clear whether the material Trump referred to involves Epstein’s first set of charges in the early 2000s or the federal case filed in 2019. The White House has not provided clarification on this, though the BBC said it had reached out for comment.

In recent years, some grand jury documents were unsealed in relation to Epstein’s 2006 Florida case, where he was charged with solicitation of a prostitute. The case attracted heavy criticism over the lenient charges and the disturbing victim testimonies, many of which involved minors.

Trump’s order follows backlash over Bondi’s recent statement dismissing the existence of a so-called “client list,” which many of Trump’s supporters believed would expose prominent figures connected to Epstein.

Bondi had earlier hinted that she would soon reveal “a lot of names” and “a lot of flight logs,” referring to individuals who travelled with Epstein or visited his private island, where several of the alleged crimes are said to have taken place.

Her statement last week that the justice department does not believe such a list exists, and that Epstein died by suicide, triggered anger among Trump’s base. Some called for her resignation, accusing her of backtracking on promises made during the campaign.

Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk welcomed Trump’s latest move, calling it a major win for the grassroots. “This is massive, this is something that we've been talking about for quite some time, and really a power to the grassroots,” he said.

Trump had previously pledged to release Epstein-related files while on the campaign trail. Epstein died in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, more than a decade after being convicted in Florida for soliciting prostitution from a minor.