Donald Trump has reversed course on the Epstein files and ordered Republicans to back a petition for their release.
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, the president said House Republicans should support a bipartisan petition led by Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie that would force their release.
It comes after the petition already secured the 218 signatures needed to force a vote.
Highlights
- Donald Trump reversed his stance and urged House Republicans to support a petition to release the Epstein files.
- The bipartisan petition, led by Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, has secured 218 signatures to force a vote.
- Rep. Massie hopes for a veto-proof majority to override any presidential veto blocking the release of the files.
- Trump previously called GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert to discourage support but now claims he has nothing to hide.
Donald Trump has told Republicans to vote to release the Epstein files
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“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,’” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump, who has continually described the issue of the Epstein files as a hoax and smear attempt, had earlier sought to dissuade Republicans from supporting the petition.
On Tuesday, Trump personally called GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert to try to convince her to withdraw support for the measure, according to The New York Times.
Boebert was one of the few Republicans to support the petition before Trump’s U-turn, joined by Nancy Mace, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Massie.
Image credits: Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Massie on Sunday told ABC News’ This Week that he expected up to 100 Republicans to vote to release the files and was hoping for a veto-proof majority, which means securing at least two-thirds of the House — roughly 290 votes — so that Congress could override a presidential veto.
The Kentucky rep. also raised concerns over Trump ordering his Department of Justice (DOJ) to launch an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s ties with prominent Democrats.
“If they have ongoing investigations in certain areas, those documents can’t be released so this might be a big smoke screen – these investigations – to open a bunch of them as a last ditch effort to prevent the release of the Epstein files,” Massie said.
Those investigations are focusing on some of Trump’s rivals, including Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, and Reid Hoffman.
None of them have been accused of wrongdoing by Epstein’s victims, and there is no suggestion that being named in the files implies wrongdoing.
Clinton’s spokesperson Angel Ureña said in a brief statement on X: “These emails prove Bill Clinton did nothing and knew nothing.
“The rest is noise meant to distract from election losses, backfiring shutdowns, and who knows what else.”
Trump has described it as a Democratic hoax
Image credits: Donald J Trump
Trump has now insisted that he has nothing to hide from the release of the files and claimed that some members of the Republican Party were being used.
“Nobody cared about Jeffrey Epstein when he was alive and, if the Democrats had anything, they would have released it before our Landslide Election Victory. Some ‘members’ of the Republican Party are being ‘used,’ and we can’t let that happen,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
His comments came after a public spat with Greene, who was once a staunch Trump loyalist but has questioned the party over several actions, including the failure to release the Epstein files.
Image credits: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Trump on Friday withdrew support for Greene and branded her a “traitor.”
She said she has received a pipe bomb threat and hoax pizza deliveries after Trump issued a “dog whistle to dangerous radicals.”
“Wacky Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Brown (Remember, Green turns to Brown where there is ROT involved!) is working overtime to try and portray herself as a victim when, in actuality, she is the cause of all of her own problems. The fact is, nobody cares about this Traitor to our Country!” Trump posted on Truth Social.