Trump tells Republicans to vote to release Epstein files, in reversal from previous stance | Donald Trump
US President Donald Trump has urged his fellow Republicans in Congress to vote to release records linked to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, reversing his previous resistance to such a move.
Trump’s message on his Truth Social came after House Speaker Mike Johnson said earlier that he believed a vote on releasing Justice Department documents in the Epstein case should help put an end to allegations “that he [Trump] that has something to do with it.”
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday: “House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files because we have nothing to hide.
“And it’s time to abandon this Democratic hoax perpetrated by the crazies of the radical left in order to distract from the great success of the Republican Party, including our recent victory over the Democratic shutdown,” he said.
Although Trump and Epstein were photographed together decades ago, the president said the two men had fallen out before Epstein’s conviction. Emails released last week by a House committee showed that the disgraced financier, who died by suicide in prison in 2019, believed Trump “knew about the girls,” although the meaning of that phrase was unclear.
Trump, who recently called the Epstein files a Democratic smear campaign, has since tasked the Justice Department with investigating ties between prominent Democrats and Epstein.
Some critics have accused Trump of trying to cover up details — which the president denies — by seeking to block the vote, which has divided his typically loyal Republican Party.
“The House Oversight Committee can have everything it’s legally entitled to, I don’t care! All I care about is Republicans getting back on point, which is the economy, ‘affordability,'” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
On Sunday, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie asked Trump if the president was making a “last effort” to prevent the full files on Epstein from being made public by ordering a new investigation.
Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, the two U.S. representatives leading the bipartisan push to make all government-held records public, both expressed concerns about the White House’s latest actions.
Speaking on ABC’s This Week, Massie criticized Trump for ordering Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday to look into Democrats with ties to Epstein.
Trump on Friday night withdrew his support for U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, long one of his strongest supporters in Congress, following her criticism of Republicans on issues, including the handling of the Epstein cases.
Khanna, an early sponsor of the petition calling for a vote on releasing the files, said Sunday he expected more than 40 Republicans to vote in favor.
Republicans hold the majority in the House, with 219 seats, compared to 214 for Democrats.
With Agence France-Presse
