Donald Trump urged Republicans in Congress to back the release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein in a stunning reversal of his position on Sunday.
The president wrote on Truth Social that House Republicans should back the motion “because we have nothing to hide”, amid renewed scrutiny over his relationship with the late paedophile financier.
A petition forcing a vote on the release of Justice Department documents gained enough support to move forward on Wednesday, backed mostly by Democrats, with limited support from Republicans.
The push for transparency has come into focus with the release of emails between Epstein and his vast network of contacts.
In one email, the disgraced financier said Trump “knew about the girls”, though it was not clear what that phrase meant.
Trump had long dismissed the files as a political distraction and accused the Democrats of pushing a “hoax”. But continued voter outrage has piled pressure onto politicians to act, forcing open a rift between Trump and some allies in Congress.
House to vote on release of Epstein files
Trump’s volte-face came days after the petition to vote on the release of files held by the Department of Justice gained enough support to move forward.
Until now, the vote had been largely backed by Democrats, who Trump accused of feeding a hoax. But some Republicans, too, have pushed for full transparency after months of delay.
Many of Trump’s most loyal supporters believe the government is withholding sensitive documents about Epstein that would reveal the late financier’s ties to powerful public figures.
Trump late on Friday withdrew his support for US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, long one of his staunchest supporters in Congress, following her criticism of Republicans on certain issues, including the handling of the Epstein files.
Amid growing bipartisan pressure, House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said he intends to hold a House vote this week in order to “take that weapon out of [the Democrats’] hands”.
“Let’s just get this done and move it on. There’s nothing to hide,” he said on “Fox News Sunday”.
Aides had said a vote could be expected in December, before the Speaker last week announced his plans to move it forward.
Trump has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.
What could Trump do?
Even if the vote does find in favour of releasing the files, there is no guarantee it will become law.
The bill would then have to get through the Senate. Leaders there have shown no indication that they would table it for a vote.
Trump also has the power to veto it. The House could only force cooperation by holding the attorney general in contempt of Congress, which is unlikely.
Such a move would do little to assuage growing concerns about the public perception of not releasing the remaining files. Four Republicans have already joined the Democrats in pushing for the House vote. Senior Republicans privately believe that ‘dozens’ of Republicans will vote for the disclosure bill, five anonymous sources told Politico.
Among those publicly lending their support is Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has campaigned for the files to be released. She told CNN last week: “Pretty much everyone across the board agrees – release the Epstein files.”
“This is something that I get calls into my office almost every day about,” she said. “I think that’s extremely important, whether they come from the district or out of district, and it’s – it’s all over the country. People just want this information released.”
MAGA divided
During his election campaign, Trump had promised to release the files. The circumstances around Epstein’s death – he took his own life in prison while awaiting trial – and the wide-reaching array of high-profile names implicated have fuelled speculation and conspiracy around the case.
What has been released so far has not been deemed sufficient by campaigners and politicians. Trump’s MAGA base has split over whether to back the President’s claim that the files are a Democrat-inspired “hoax” or demand their release.
An FBI memo concluding there was no “client list” did not help the rift, nor ambiguities around surveillance footage from a camera near Epstein’s prison cell the night before he was found dead.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Rep. Nancy Mace, and Rep. Lauren Boebert all signed the petition back in September, leaving it one short until Grijalva’s arrival.
Trump’s loyalist base is not easily moved. But the Epstein files threaten to create a fissure between the president and key elements of his party.
