Washington, D.C. – November 17, 2025 – In a dramatic pivot that has sent ripples through Capitol Hill, President Donald Trump on Sunday evening called on House Republicans to support the release of long-withheld files related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, insisting his administration has "nothing to hide." The announcement, posted on Trump's Truth Social platform shortly after he returned from a weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, marks a stark reversal from his earlier efforts to quash the bipartisan push for transparency, which he had branded a "Democrat Hoax" designed to undermine Republican successes.
The Epstein case, which has captivated public attention for years due to the financier's ties to elite figures across politics, business, and entertainment, resurfaced in Congress last week when the House Oversight Committee released over 20,000 pages of emails and documents from Epstein's estate. These files included correspondence referencing high-profile names, such as former President Bill Clinton and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, though no new evidence of wrongdoing emerged. Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York federal jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, had long been accused of operating a network that exploited underage girls, with his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell currently serving a 20-year sentence for her role in the scheme.
Trump's Sunday post arrived just hours after landing at Joint Base Andrews, where he addressed reporters aboard Air Force One, dismissing recent leaks of Epstein emails mentioning his name as "pretty boring stuff" and "sordid, but boring." "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. He emphasized that his Department of Justice had already disclosed "tens of thousands of pages" on Epstein and accused Democrats of sitting on damaging information about their own allies if it existed, noting, "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."
The timing of Trump's endorsement could not have been more critical. A bipartisan discharge petition, led by Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie and California Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna, has garnered 218 signatures—enough to force a floor vote as early as Tuesday on the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The legislation would compel the Justice Department to declassify and release all remaining unredacted records, including investigative materials, communications, and details surrounding Epstein's death. Massie, appearing on ABC's "This Week," predicted "100 or more" Republicans might back the measure, warning that "the record of this vote will last longer than Donald Trump’s presidency." House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Trump ally, had earlier described the vote as a "moot point" amid an ongoing Oversight probe but signaled openness to it on "Fox News Sunday," saying, "We’ll just get this done and move it on."
Trump's about-face follows weeks of internal Republican discord, exacerbated by the release of Epstein emails that referenced the president multiple times. One 2011 message from Epstein to Maxwell described Trump as "that dog that hasn't barked," alluding to survivor Virginia Giuffre's hours spent at Epstein's home with him, though Giuffre has testified under oath that Trump "did nothing inappropriate." Trump, who was photographed socializing with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s, has maintained they fell out long before Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Flight logs show Trump flew on Epstein's plane seven times, but no evidence links him to criminal activity.
In a follow-up Truth Social message, Trump amplified defenses from allies, sharing a post from David Schoen, the attorney who briefly represented Epstein in 2019 and later served on Trump's second impeachment defense team. "If Jeffrey Epstein had any dirt on Donald Trump, he would have had great leverage in the criminal case against him at the time he died," Schoen wrote. "The fact that he unequivocally said he had none ought to shut down the false claims otherwise; but facts are no obstacle to political attacks." Schoen, who claimed he directly asked Epstein about potential leverage against Trump during strategy sessions just days before the financier's death, reiterated, "I can say authoritatively, unequivocally, and definitively that he had no information to hurt President Trump. I specifically asked him!"
Yet the reversal did little to heal fractures within Trump's party. Just days prior, the president had waged a public war against GOP "defectors" championing the files' release, particularly Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Thomas Massie. On Friday, Trump withdrew his endorsement of Greene, once a fierce MAGA loyalist, blasting her as "Wacky Marjorie 'Traitor' Brown (Remember, Green turns to Brown where there is ROT involved!)" and vowing to back a primary challenger in her district. "Wacky Marjorie 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!" he posted Saturday, escalating a weekend-long feud.
Greene, who signed the discharge petition alongside Democrats, fired back on X, attributing the rift squarely to the Epstein issue: "This has all come down to the Epstein files." In a CNN "State of the Union" interview Sunday, she insisted her stance aligns with Trump's "America First" ethos, emphasizing survivor testimonies that exonerate him. "The women themselves... said that Donald Trump did nothing wrong. Quite a few of them even told me they voted for him," Greene said, adding she hopes to reconcile: "I worship God, not Donald Trump." She revealed receiving death threats fueled by Trump's attacks, prompting offers from private security firms. Greene's break from Trump extends beyond Epstein; she has criticized his tariff policies and foreign aid decisions, arguing they distract from "healthcare and affordability for Americans."
The feud underscores broader GOP anxieties. Trump's base, long skeptical of Epstein's death and convinced of a cover-up involving Democratic elites, has pressured lawmakers despite the president's initial resistance. Survivors, including those who spoke at a September Capitol press conference with Greene, have amplified calls for full disclosure, with one telling reporters, "Survivors deserve the truth." Even as Trump directed the DOJ last week to probe Epstein's Democratic ties—targeting Clinton, Summers, and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman—he hinted the files could boomerang against his foes: "It’s a Democrat Hoax for purposes of deflection, just like the Russia, Russia, Russia Scam!!! They had the sleazy relationships with Epstein, and should be prosecuted!!!"
White House officials framed the shift as pragmatic, with one anonymous aide telling reporters, "The president doesn't care about the files—he cares about winning." Critics, including Khanna on NBC's "Meet the Press," expressed concern that Trump's probe could delay releases by invoking an "active investigation" exemption. If the bill passes the House, it faces a tougher Senate path, where Wyoming Republican Sen. John Barrasso has signaled reservations.
Trump wrapped his Sunday salvo with a rallying cry: "Some 'members' of the Republican Party are being 'used,' and we can't let that happen. Let's start talking about the Republican Party's Record Setting Achievements, and not fall into the Epstein 'TRAP,' which is actually a curse on the Democrats, not us. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" As the vote looms, the episode exposes fault lines in Trump's coalition, testing loyalties forged during his 2024 landslide and raising questions about transparency in an administration promising to drain the swamp.
The Epstein saga, far from resolved, continues to ensnare Washington, blending conspiracy, celebrity, and criminality in a narrative that refuses to fade. With potential revelations about figures from Prince Andrew to Stephen Hawking already public, advocates argue full disclosure is essential for justice. Whether Trump's endorsement unites or further divides Republicans remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the files' release could redefine accountability for America's powerful.
