Trump says House Republicans should vote to release Epstein files
By KEVIN FREKING and CHRIS MEGERIAN, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says House Republicans should vote to release records in the Jeffrey Epstein case, a surprising turnaround after previously fighting the proposal as a growing number of members of his own party supported it.
“We have nothing to hide, and it’s time to put aside this Democratic hoax perpetrated by the crazy radical left to distract from the great success of the Republican Party,” Trump wrote on social media Sunday evening after landing at Joint Base Andrews after a weekend in Florida.
Trump’s statement follows a bitter fight within the GOP over the issues, including an increasingly violent breakup with Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has long been one of his staunchest supporters.
The president’s change of course is an implicit acknowledgment that the measure’s supporters have enough votes to pass it in the House, even if its future in the Senate is uncertain.
This is a rare example of Trump backtracking due to opposition within the Republican Party. Upon his return to office and his second term as president, Trump largely consolidated his power within the Republican Party.
“I DON’T CARE!” Trump wrote in his social media post. “All I care about is that Republicans get back on point.”
Lawmakers who support the bill predicted a big victory in the House this week with a “flood of Republicans” voting for it, over GOP leaders and the president.
In his opposition to the proposal, Trump even contacted two of the Republican lawmakers who signed it. One of them, Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, met with administration officials in the White House Situation Room last week to discuss it.
The bill would require the Justice Department to release all records and communications related to Epstein, as well as any information about the investigation into his death in federal prison. Information about Epstein’s victims or ongoing federal investigations could be redacted.
“There could be 100 votes or more” from Republicans, said Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., among lawmakers discussing the legislation during their appearances on Sunday’s news shows. “I hope to get a veto-proof majority on this legislation when it comes to a vote.”
Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna, Democrat of California, presented a discharge petition in July to force a vote on their bill. This is a rarely effective tool that allows a majority of Members to circumvent House leadership and force a floor vote.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had rejected the discharge petition and sent members home early for their August recess when the GOP legislative agenda was upended by clamoring for an Epstein vote. Democrats also say the seat of Rep. Adelita Grijalva, Democrat of Arizona, was held up to delay her becoming the 218th member to sign the petition and reach the threshold needed to force a vote. She became the 218th signature after being sworn in last week.
Massie said Johnson, Trump and others who have criticized his efforts would “suffer a big loss this week.”
“I’m not tired of winning yet, but we’re winning,” Massie said.
The GOP leaders’ perspective
Johnson appears to expect the House to decisively support the Epstein bill.
“We’re just going to do this and move forward. There’s nothing to hide,” adding that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has released “a lot more information than the discharge petition, their little strategy.”
The vote comes at a time when new documents raise new questions about Epstein and his associates, including a 2019 email Epstein wrote to a reporter saying Trump “knew about the girls.” The White House accused Democrats of selectively releasing the emails to defame the Republican president.
Johnson said Trump “has nothing to hide.”
“They’re doing this to go after President Trump based on the theory that he had something to do with this. That’s not the case,” Johnson said.
Trump’s association with Epstein is well-established, and the president’s name was included in documents his own Justice Department released in February as part of an effort to satisfy public interest in information emerging from the sex trafficking investigation.
Trump has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and the mere inclusion of someone’s name in the investigation’s records does not imply otherwise. Epstein, who committed suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial, also had many prominent acquaintances in political and celebrity circles besides Trump.
Khanna expressed more modest expectations than Massie for the vote count. Still, Khanna said he hoped at least 40 Republicans would join the effort.
“I don’t even know how involved Trump was,” Khanna said. “Many others involved must be held accountable. »
Khanna also asked Trump to meet with those who have been mistreated. Some will be at the Capitol on Tuesday for a news conference, he said.
Massie said Republican lawmakers who fear losing Trump’s support because of how they vote will have a mark on their record if they vote “no,” which could hurt their long-term political prospects.
“The record of this vote will last longer than the presidency of Donald Trump,” Massie said.
A MAGA split
On the Republican side, three Republicans joined Massie in signing the discharge petition: Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Boebert.
Trump publicly resigned with Greene last week and said he would support a challenger against her in 2026 “if the right person comes along.”
Greene attributed the fallout with Trump as “unfortunately, it all comes down to the Epstein files.” She said the country deserves transparency on the issue and that Trump’s criticism of her is confusing because women she has spoken to say he did nothing wrong.
“I have no idea what’s in the files. I can’t even guess. But that’s the question everyone’s asking: why fight so hard?” Greene said.
Trump’s feud with Greene escalated over the weekend, with Trump sending a final social media message about her while still sitting in his helicopter on the White House lawn when he returned home Sunday night, writing, “The fact is, no one cares about this traitor to our country!
Even if the bill passes the House, there is no guarantee that Senate Republicans will accept it. Massie said he just hopes Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., “does the right thing.”
“The pressure is going to be there if we get a big vote in the House,” said Massie, who thinks “we could have a deluge of Republicans.”
Massie appeared on ABC’s “This Week,” Johnson on “Fox News Sunday,” Khanna spoke on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and Greene was interviewed on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price contributed to this report.
