The US House of Representatives is poised to take a significant step in the mammoth saga of the so-called "Epstein files".
This week, members will vote on legislation requiring the US Department of Justice to release all unclassified documents and communications related to disgraced late financier and paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.
If the bill passes the House, it will still need to make it through the Senate and, finally, to President Donald Trump for his signature.
It follows months of sustained pressure from Mr Trump's supporters and Republican party members for greater transparency around the Epstein investigation.
Mr Trump has previously labelled the vote a "Democrat hoax", despite it being spearheaded by a Republican.
He has also condemned efforts to release the documents as an attempt to smear his name, as scrutiny of his long-time friendship with Epstein, who died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial, intensifies.
But on Sunday, local time, the US president performed a startling backflip, urging his fellow Republicans to vote in support of releasing the Epstein files.
Here is a closer look at how we got here — and what we can expect from the vote.
Trump says 'I think I would' release files
While he was on the campaign trail for the 2024 US presidential election, Mr Trump promised supporters he would release Department of Justice files relating to Epstein.
Asked in June that year if he would declassify the files, he answered: "I think I would."
"You don't want to affect people's lives if it's phoney stuff in there, because there's a lot of phoney stuff with that whole world," he said.
In February this year, following Mr Trump's presidential win, Fox News questioned Attorney-General Pam Bondi on whether the Department of Justice would release Epstein's "client list".
Ms Bondi said it was "sitting on my desk right now to review".
This is a hypothetical list containing the names of high-profile clients to whom Epstein trafficked underage girls.
Conspiracy theories claim he maintained this list to blackmail his large social circle of politicians and celebrities, and that his 2019 death was not a suicide as officially reported, but a murder to protect his clients.
That same month, the Department of Justice invited conservative bloggers and influencers to the White House where they were handed binders marked "The Epstein Files: Phase 1" and "Declassified".
However, most of the evidence in these binders had already been released to the public, sparking backlash from MAGA supporters.
In the wake of the lacklustre reception, Ms Bondi said officials were poring over a "truckload" of previously withheld evidence she said had been handed over by the FBI.
Justice department says no evidence of 'client list'
In July, the Department of Justice and FBI released a joint statement saying a review revealed no evidence Epstein had maintained a "client list".
It also said the review did not uncover any credible evidence that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals, or any other evidence "that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties".
That same month, Ms Bondi backtracked on her client list claims, saying she was actually referring to the Epstein case files.
The department also released hours of footage which officials said further confirmed Epstein died by suicide while in custody in Manhattan in 2019.
This contradicted conspiracy theories spread by Trump allies and others after initial video of the minutes before Epstein's death was later determined to be .
However, the memo said no more Epstein files would be released to the public, arguing no "further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted".
This sparked significant backlash from conservatives, prompting Mr Trump to deride some of his supporters as "stupid" and "weaklings" for urging further releases.
'Discharge petition' to release files
Days later, on July 15, Republican representative Thomas Massie and Democratic representative Ro Khanna sought a House vote for a "discharge petition" to release the Epstein files.
This allows members to bypass House leadership and bring a bill onto the floor if a majority of members (218) sign on.
About a week later, Deputy Attorney-General Todd Blanche interviewed Epstein's accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell in a two-day meeting she initiated, according to America's ABC News.
In a transcript and audio of the interview, released a month later, Maxwell claimed there was no "client list" or blackmail scheme to her knowledge.
Days after the interview, the Department of Justice announced Maxwell had been moved to a "minimum security" federal prison camp in Texas.
In September, a US House Committee released a first batch of more than 33,000 pages of files on Epstein, largely including court files and other previously released information.
Days later, the same committee published a birthday scrapbook Maxwell had organised for Epstein's 50th.
The 238-page document included a page allegedly written by Mr Trump, featuring a crude drawing of a woman's body around a typed letter and what appeared to be Mr Trump's signature.
The US president denied he wrote and signed the letter.
Email says Trump 'knew about the girls'
Months later, on November 12, a US congressional committee released more than 20,000 pages of documents from the Epstein estate.
Emails included in the tranche showed Epstein believed Mr Trump "knew about the girls", although it was not clear what that phrase meant.
Later that day, Democratic representative Adelita Grijalva was sworn into office, becoming the final signature needed for the discharge petition to reach its 218 threshold.
Four Republicans and all 214 Democrats in the House signed the petition.
House Speaker Mike Johnson subsequently announced he would bring a bill to release the Epstein files to a vote the following week.
He said on Sunday, local time, that the vote should put to rest any allegations that Mr Trump had any connection to Epstein's crimes.
"Let's just get this done and move it on. There's nothing to hide," he said.
At the same time, Mr Trump announced he had instructed the Department of Justice to probe Epstein's ties to prominent Democrats, including Bill Clinton and Larry Summers.
Finally, on Sunday, after months of resistance and downplaying, he called for fellow Republicans to vote for the release of the Epstein files.
"We have nothing to hide," he said on Truth Social.
A group of Epstein survivors also published a video statement this week urging the release of all the files.
"For five administrations, survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have been left in the dark, waiting for answers and accountability," the video description said.
"After three decades, it's finally time to bring the secrets out of the shadows."
What do we expect from the vote?
The president's reversal has been deemed an implicit acknowledgement that supporters of the measure have enough votes to pass the House of Representatives.
Republicans hold the majority in the House, with 219 seats, versus 214 for Democrats, with Mr Khanna saying he expects more than 40 Republicans will vote in favour of the bill.
However, the legislation has an unclear future in the Senate.
To pass the upper chamber, it will need to receive a significant 60 votes.
From there, it will progress to Mr Trump for him to sign into law.
What is in the files?
Only a fraction of the files held by the Department of Justice on Epstein have been released so far.
In a memo earlier this year, the department shared more details of the unreleased evidence in its possession.
This included "images and videos of victims who are either minors or appear to be minors", images of Epstein and more than 10,000 "downloaded videos and images of illegal child sex abuse material and other pornography".
The memo said much of the material was sealed by a court to protect victims, adding that only a "fraction" of it would have been aired publicly had Epstein gone to trial.
"One of our highest priorities is combating child exploitation and bringing justice to victims," the memo read.
"Perpetuating unfounded theories about Epstein serves neither of those ends."
The department did not detail when the videos were taken, what they contained or whether they had been newly discovered by investigators.
However, indictments and detention memos do not allege the existence of video recordings, and neither Epstein nor Maxwell were charged with possession of child sex abuse material.
ABC/Wires
