Donald Trump Signs Bill To Release Epstein Files After Stunning U-Turn
Trump insisted the Epstein matter had become a distraction to the GOP agenda and indicated he wanted to move on.
In an announcement on social media platform Truth Social, US President Donald Trump on Thursday claimed to have signed a bill ordering the release of files on deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The move comes following mounting pressure from his own party, following initial resistance to authorise the release.
He directly targeted prominent Democratic figures over their alleged associations with the disgraced financier.
In his post, Trump asserted Epstein was "a lifelong Democrat," citing donations the made to major Democratic politicians and listing figures such as Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman, Hakeem Jeffries, and Stacey Plaskett as being closely connected to Epstein.
Trump contrasted his administration’s actions with the alleged inaction of the Joe Biden administration, stating while his Department of Justice had turned over nearly 50,000 pages of documents to Congress, "the Biden administration did not turn over a SINGLE file or page related to Democrat Epstein, nor did they ever even speak about him."
Trump went on to claim the Epstein controversy was an orchestrated distraction by Democrats, claiming they were using the issue to divert attention from Republican achievements, including tax reform, border security, military strength, and regulation cuts. He reiterated claims that Democrat-led investigations—"Russia, Russia, Russia," "Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine," and previous impeachment proceedings were "witch hunts" intended "to confuse, deflect, and distract from the great job that Republicans, and the Trump administration, are doing."
"This latest hoax will backfire on the Democrats just as all of the rest have! Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!," Trump said, ending the social media post.
Trump Does A U-Turn
As recently as last week, the Trump administration even summoned one Republican proponent of releasing the files, Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, to the Situation Room to discuss the matter, although she did not change her mind.
But over the weekend, Trump did a sharp U-turn on the files once it became clear that congressional action was inevitable. He insisted the Epstein matter had become a distraction to the GOP agenda and indicated he wanted to move on.
The House passed the legislation on a 427-1 vote, with Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., being the sole dissenter. He argued that the bill's language could lead to the release of information on innocent people mentioned in the federal investigation. The Senate later approved it unanimously, skipping a formal vote.
It's long been established that Trump had been friends with Epstein, the disgraced financier who was close to the world's elite. But the president has consistently said he did not know of Epstein's crimes and had cut ties with him long ago.
Before Trump returned to the White House for a second term, some of his closest political allies helped fuel conspiracy theories about the government's handling of the Epstein case, asserting a cover-up of potentially incriminating information in those files.
