In reversal, Trump says House Republicans should vote to release Epstein files
In a reversal, President Trump says House Republicans should vote to release the Jeffrey Epstein files.
In a post on his Truth Social platform late Sunday night, Mr. Trump wrote, "As I said on Friday night aboard Air Force One to the Fake News Media, House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide, and it's time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat 'Shutdown.'"
The president had been opposing the release of the files.
He has previously said he cut ties with Epstein years ago, and he has not been accused of wrongdoing.
House GOP leaders are aiming to hold a vote Tuesday on legislation to force the full release of the Justice Department's files on Epstein, sources familiar with the vote tell CBS.
All Democrats and four Republican House members last week successfully brought a petition to the floor to force the vote on releasing the files, circumventing GOP leaders. House Speaker Mike Johnson said the vote will happen this week.
The bill, titled the Epstein Files Transparency Act, was first introduced in July by Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky as pressure intensified on the Trump administration to release more Epstein-related files.
The bipartisan legislation calls for the release of documents relating to all investigations into Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of sex trafficking in 2021. The bill would compel the release of flight logs, travel records, names of individuals and entities referenced in any Epstein case and internal Justice Department communications within 30 days of the legislation's passage. It would also make public any records "concerning the destruction, deletion, alteration, misplacement, or concealment of documents, recordings, or electronic data" related to Epstein and his associates, as well as documentation about his death.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 at a Manhattan correctional facility while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
"I believe we're going to get 40, 50 Republicans voting with us on the release," Khanna told reporters Wednesday. "And if we get that kind of overwhelming vote, that's going to push the Senate, and it's going to push for a release of the files from the Justice Department."
It's unclear if the Senate would take it up if it clears the House.
Last week, the House Oversight Committee released more than 20,000 pages of documents from Epstein's estate. They included emails exchanged between Epstein and others about President Trump.
On Friday, Mr. Trump called on the Justice Department and the FBI to investigate Epstein's involvement with prominent Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, and major financial institutions.