US President Donald Trump has bowed to pressure over the Jeffrey Epstein case, announcing he has told his Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to release relevant grand jury testimony.

“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. This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday (Australian time).

The decision comes after Trump vowed to sue former News Corp boss Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal over reports that a note bearing Trump’s name and a sketch of a naked woman were among “bawdy” birthday letters given to Epstein in 2003.

After Trump posted that he would release the Epstein documents, Bondi said on social media platform X that the US Justice Department was ready to move the court to unseal the grand jury transcripts.

“President Trump – we are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts,” Bondi wrote.

Trump has faced more than a week of pressure from supporters and renewed public scrutiny on the convicted sex offender’s connections to powerful figures.

Epstein, a wealthy financier, was facing federal charges of sex trafficking minors when he died by suicide in jail in 2019. He had pleaded not guilty, and the case was dismissed after his death.

The topic returned to the news last week after the Trump administration reversed course on its pledge to release documents it had previously suggested would offer major revelations about Epstein and his alleged clientele.

Earlier, Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt said he would not recommend appointing a special prosecutor in the Epstein case.

“The President would not recommend a special prosecutor in the Epstein case. That’s how he feels,” she said.

Leavitt said Trump had already directed the Justice Department and Bondi to conduct an “exhaustive review of all files”, dismissing the renewed interest in Epstein as politically motivated and accusing Democrats of ignoring the issue during their time in power.

Earlier this week, Trump attacked his own supporters, who have criticised his administration’s handling of the Epstein case.

“Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore!” he wrote on Truth Social.

He said later that Bondi should release whatever she thought was credible.

“Whatever’s credible, she can release,” he said. “If a document’s there that’s credible, she can release. I think it’s good.”

In another development on Friday, Trump has vowed to sue former News Corp boss Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal after reports that a note bearing Trump’s name and a sketch of a naked woman were among “bawdy” birthday letters given to Epstein in 2003.

The WSJ said the letter is several lines of typewritten text framed by the sketch, which appeared to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker. It said it concludes “Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret”, and features the signature “Donald”.

Earlier Friday, Trump said on Truth Social that the Wall Street Journal “and Rupert Murdoch, personally, were warned directly by President Donald J. Trump that the supposed letter they printed by President Trump to Epstein was a FAKE and, if they print it, they will be sued”.

“Mr Murdoch stated that he would take care of it but, obviously, did not have the power to do so,” Trump wrote.

“The Editor of The Wall Street Journal, Emma Tucker, was told directly by Karoline Leavitt, and by President Trump, that the letter was a FAKE, but Emma Tucker didn’t want to hear that. Instead, they are going with a false, malicious, and defamatory story anyway. President Trump will be suing The Wall Street Journal, NewsCorp, and Mr Murdoch, shortly.”

A spokesperson for the WSJ and its parent company, Dow Jones & Co, declined to comment on its story or Trump’s threat to sue. Representatives for News Corp and Murdoch could not immediately be reached for comment.

-with AAP