3 weeks ago
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In caller days, arsenic the United States House of Representatives approached a imaginable ballot astir releasing the Epstein files, President Donald Trump pivoted connected the hot-button topic.
Trump and members of his administration had sought to undermine efforts to merchandise the files related to convicted enactment offender Jeffrey Epstein. And Trump has been dismissive of the propulsion to marque the files public, calling the lawsuit “pretty boring stuff” successful July and repeatedly referring to it arsenic a Democratic “hoax.”
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Then, connected November 16, helium told House Republicans to vote successful favour of the release.
His displacement came aft lawmakers cleared a important hurdle connected November 12, netting 218 signatures connected a petition to unit a ballot connected a measure to merchandise the files wrong 30 days. The House is expected to ballot connected that measure this week. Previously, it was considered improbable the authorities would walk successful the Senate; it remains to beryllium seen whether Trump’s latest connection volition origin senators to reconsider.
Epstein moved successful the aforesaid societal circles as Trump in the 1990s, including attending parties astatine Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s backstage Palm Beach, Florida, club. The 2 were photographed unneurotic successful societal settings aggregate times. They aboriginal had a falling out, a rift that immoderate reporters dated to precocious 2007.
Palm Beach County prosecutors investigated Epstein aft reports that a 14-year-old miss was molested astatine his mansion. In 2008, Epstein pleaded blameworthy to authorities charges related to soliciting prostitution from idiosyncratic nether 18. He received preferential attraction during the transgression probe and served astir a twelvemonth successful jail, mostly connected enactment release.
In 2018, The Miami Herald published an extended probe into the case, and the adjacent year, Epstein was arrested connected national charges for recruiting dozens of underage girls to his New York City mansion and Palm Beach property from 2002 to 2005 to prosecute successful enactment acts for money. He was recovered dormant successful his Manhattan jailhouse compartment connected August 10, 2019, and investigators concluded helium died by suicide.
We asked the White House wherefore Trump changed his stance connected releasing the files. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said successful a statement, “President Trump has been consistently calling for transparency related to the Epstein files for years – by releasing tens of thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee’s subpoena request” and calling for investigations into “Epstein’s Democrat friends”.
Here’s what Trump has said successful 2024 and 2025 astir releasing the Epstein files.
While campaigning successful 2024, Trump said helium would merchandise the files
In June 2024, Fox and Friends co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy asked Trump if helium would declassify assorted files, including those related to 9/11 and erstwhile President John F Kennedy.
“Would you declassify the Epstein files?” Campos-Duffy said.
“Yeah, yeah, I would,” Trump said.
The clip dispersed connected societal media, and Trump’s run account also shared it.
🚨 President Trump says helium volition DECLASSIFY the 9/11 Files, JFK Files, and Epstein Files pic.twitter.com/JalLWFkRDZ
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) June 3, 2024
During the aforesaid interview, Trump besides said, “I conjecture I would.” He added, “You don’t privation to impact people’s lives if it’s phoney worldly successful determination due to the fact that determination is simply a batch of phoney worldly with that full world, but I deliberation I would.”
On a September 2024 occurrence of the Lex Fridman podcast, during a treatment astir releasing immoderate of the Epstein documents, Trump said, “Yeah, I’d surely instrumentality a look astatine it.” He added that he’d beryllium “inclined” to bash it and said, “I’d person nary occupation with it.”
In 2025, Trump was dismissive of the Epstein files
Early successful the 2nd Trump administration, Trump officials – including Attorney General Pam Bondi and Kash Patel, who became the FBI manager – said they supported releasing the files.
In precocious February astatine a White House event, Bondi released what she called the “first phase” of “declassified Epstein files” to conservative influencers. It mostly consisted of documents that had already been made public.
In a July 12 Truth Social post, Trump expressed vexation astir the Epstein files. Speaking to reporters connected July 15 connected the White House lawn, Trump said the files “were made up by Comey. They were made up by Obama. They were made up by Biden.” We rated that assertion Pants connected Fire.
Trump said the FBI should absorption connected investigating different issues, specified arsenic elector fraud, and that his medication should “not discarded Time and Energy connected Jeffrey Epstein, idiosyncratic that cipher cares about”.
In a July 16 interrogation with Real America’s Voice, a blimpish outlet, Trump said, “I deliberation successful the lawsuit of Epstein, they’ve already looked astatine it and they are looking astatine it and I deliberation each they person to bash is enactment retired thing credible. But you know, that was tally by the Biden medication for 4 years.”
On August 22, a newsman asked Trump if helium was successful favour of releasing the files.
“I’m successful enactment of keeping it open,” helium said. “Innocent radical shouldn’t beryllium hurt, but I’m successful enactment of keeping it wholly open. I couldn’t attraction less. You got a batch of radical that could beryllium mentioned successful those files that don’t merit to be, radical – due to the fact that helium knew everybody successful Palm Beach. I don’t cognize thing astir that, but I person said to Pam (Bondi) and everybody else, springiness them everything you tin springiness them due to the fact that it’s a Democrat hoax.”
On September 3, a newsman asked Trump a question astir efforts to merchandise the Epstein files and if the Justice Department was protecting immoderate friends oregon donors.
Trump said it was a “Democrat hoax that ne'er ends” and “we’ve fixed thousands of pages of files”.
This month, Trump called for releasing the files
Trump came retired successful enactment of releasing the files aft it became wide the House was headed successful that direction.
The House Oversight Committee, connected November 12, released astir 20,000 pages of documents from Epstein’s estate.
Trump directed prosecutors to analyse Democrats and told Republicans to ballot successful favour of releasing the files.
Trump has often noted Epstein’s ties to erstwhile President Bill Clinton. In a November 14 Truth Social post, Trump asked the Justice Department to investigate Epstein’s engagement with Clinton.
Typically, prosecutors bash not merchandise files during an ongoing investigation, truthful Trump’s announcement raised questions astir whether the Justice Department volition withhold definite files adjacent if Congress votes to merchandise them.
When a newsman asked Trump connected November 14 astir releasing the files, helium said, “I don’t attraction astir it, released oregon not.”
Two days later, successful a November 16 post, Trump said, “House Republicans should ballot to merchandise the Epstein files, due to the fact that we person thing to hide, and it’s clip to determination connected from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics successful bid to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our caller Victory connected the Democrat ‘Shutdown.’’
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