Trump calls on House Republicans to vote to release Epstein files
US President Donald Trump has urged lawmakers in his own party to vote to release files relating to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump wrote on Sunday night that Republicans in the House of Representatives should do so “because we have nothing to hide”.
It marks a reversal for Trump after weeks of calling the demand for a vote on the release a Democratic-driven distraction. House Democrats have gradually released documents concerning Epstein, some referencing Trump, who has consistently denied any involvement in Epstein’s sex abuse and trafficking.
Potentially dozens of Republicans have signalled they are willing to break ranks and vote in favour of a bill that would compel the US government to publish all its documents on Epstein. Supporters appear to have enough votes for the measure to pass the House this week, though it is unclear if it would pass the Senate.
Epstein, a financier, was found dead in his New York prison cell in 2019 in what a coroner later ruled a suicide. He faced sex trafficking charges and had previously been convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008. Investigations amassed a large collection of documents, including interview transcripts and items seized from his properties.
Trump had previously dismissed the need to release more documents, calling it a Democrat-led “hoax”. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson also described calls to release the files as the opposition Democrats’ “entire game plan”.
Trump’s change of position came after Democrats on the House Oversight Committee published three email exchanges between Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking. Some emails referenced Trump, including one from 2011 mentioning a victim, Virginia Giuffre, who has said she never saw Trump participate in any abuse.
House Republicans later published a larger tranche of 20,000 files to counter what they said was an attempt to “cherry-pick” documents. Republican Congressman Glenn Grothman suggested Trump decided to support the release to avoid ongoing speculation and distraction over the files.
Legislation known as the Epstein Files Transparency Act aims to force the Justice Department to release all unclassified records linked to Epstein. Trump would have to sign off on the release if it passes both chambers. Survivors and Giuffre’s family have urged lawmakers to vote in favour, warning that the public will remember their decisions at the ballot box.
Credit: BBC
