SEATTLE – Forgive yourself if you thought the once all-conquering obsession with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had slipped from the headlines. It had.
With a meeting with Vladimir Putin enabling Donald Trump to have the “honour” of giving the Russian leader a red carpet welcome in Anchorage, and then a making-friends moment with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office with other European leaders, the US president has avoided having to answer questions about the man who was once a friend.
In particular, he and other Republicans have escaped scrutiny about when Trump will release all of the so-called Epstein files, a promise he made on the campaign trail and which his supporters continue to demand.
This week, attention on Epstein, found dead in his prison cell in 2019 while awaiting charges of a sex trafficking conspiracy that may have preyed on as many as 1,000 girls and young women, will return with full force.
On Friday, the House of Representatives’ Oversight Committee will receive the first of many files from the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) investigation into Epstein.
“There are many records in DOJ’s custody, and it will take the Department time to produce all the records and ensure the identification of victims and any child sexual abuse material are redacted,” said Republican congressman James Comer, the committee’s chair.
Epstein, 66, was ruled to have taken his own life in jail. Yet given the financier had links to many powerful people, ranging from Prince Andrew to Bill Clinton and even Trump himself, many Americans continue to believe foul play was involved.
Numerous hardcore Trump supporters believed the release of the DOJ’s files would confirm their belief that powerful Democrats and others were involved in the abuse of children.
Having vowed to make public every file, the announcement earlier this year by the DOJ that after having reviewed the documents, there was no “client list” and the FBI had concluded no new investigation was warranted, came like a thunderbolt.
There was outcry from many, for whom getting their hands on the documents had for years taken on a singular purpose.
In one of the few moments when he and his supporters vocally broke on an issue, Trump even attacked people who would not let the Epstein issue go away.
He claimed that these were “past supporters” who were being taken in, “hook, line, and sinker” by a Democrat-led scam.
“Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats’ work,” he added in one social media post. “…Don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore.”
For Democrats, Epstein has become an easy subject over whicch to target Trump, who has always denied any wrongdoing.
While individuals such as Clinton, the former president, were among those to fly on Epstein’s plane, as the issue dragged on more details emerged about the nature of Trump’s one-time friendship with Epstein.
The Wall Street Journal published a note Trump allegedly wrote to Epstein for his 50th Birthday that read: “Happy Birthday – and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
Trump responded by claiming the report was false and said he was suing the newspaper and its owner, Rupert Murdoch. It was a curious moment given Murdoch also owns and controls the usually slavishly pro-Trump Fox News, as part of his Dow Jones and Company publishing firm.
“We have full confidence in the rigour and accuracy of our reporting,” a spokesperson said. “[We] will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.”
This week, the former Attorney General Bill Barr gave testimony to members of the House who asked questions about Epstein, whose death took place when he was the nation’s top law enforcement official.
He reportedly told them he saw nothing linking Trump to Epstein’s activity.
However, the issue is not going away, regardless of efforts. Earlier this summer, Republican speaker Mike Johnson literally sent home members of Congress early to avoid a vote on the release of files containing information about Epstein.
Back in their constituencies, politicians learned that getting to the bottom of the matter remains a pressing issue for many of the people who voted for them..
When they do return, they may be unable to escape a vote, or at least addressing the issue. Before they left Washington DC, Democrat Ro Khanna of California, and Republican Thomas Massie of Kentucky, filed a motion that allows any member of the chamber to force a vote if a majority signs on.
This means many Republicans will be forced to do as their constituents want and vote for the release of all files, or risk angering Trump who wants nothing more than this issue to go away for ever.
Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego told reporters: “We’re going to keep the pressure up – 100 per cent.”
He added: “As often as we can, until we know exactly what happened, why it happened.”
