US President Donald Trump has reversed his previous opposition and urged House Republicans to vote for the release of government files related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, Trump said the party had “nothing to hide” and called the issue a “Democrat hoax” intended to distract from Republican successes.
“No one cared about Jeffrey Epstein when he was alive, and if the Democrats had anything, they would have released it before our landslide victory in the election,” Trump wrote. He warned that some Republicans were being “played” on the Epstein issue and urged them to refocus on topics like the economy and immigration.
“Let’s start talking about our record-breaking Republican accomplishments and not fall into the ‘Epstein Trap,’ which is really a curse on the Democrats, not us,” he added.
The president’s turnaround comes as House Republican leaders plan to hold a vote on Tuesday on a bill that would compel the Department of Justice to release all of its records related to Epstein.
The vote was forced by a bipartisan effort from Republican Representative Thomas Massie and Democratic Representative Ro Khanna, who successfully bypassed House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring their bill to the floor.
Speaking on Fox News on Sunday, Johnson said he believed the vote should help put an end to accusations that Trump was connected to Epstein’s sex trafficking of underage girls.
“They’re doing it to go after President Trump on the premise that he’s involved… but he’s not,” Johnson said, referring to the Democrats. “Their whole plan is centred on Epstein, so we’re going to take that weapon out of their hands… Let’s get this over with and move on. There’s nothing to hide.”
Although Trump and Epstein were photographed together decades ago, the president has maintained that their relationship ended before Epstein’s convictions. However, emails released by a House committee last week showed Epstein believed Trump was “aware of the girls,” though the meaning of the phrase was unclear.
Trump has since instructed the Justice Department to investigate Epstein’s connections to a number of prominent Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.
Hours after Trump’s public directive, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that federal prosecutors in New York would lead the investigation. “The Department will handle this file with the seriousness and integrity necessary to provide answers to the American people,” she said.
