President Donald Trump has called on House Republicans to vote to release the files in the Jeffrey Epstein case, a sudden reversal that is getting scrutiny on social media. “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 said in a Truth Social post late Sunday. Why It Matters The Trump administration has spent months fighting the release of the files, but the president’s shift appears to be an acknowledgment that the Epstein Files Transparency Act has enough support to pass in the House, although its future in the Senate remains unclear. His reversal on the matter comes amid a rift with some of his supporters in Congress, including a split with Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who had long been one of his fiercest supporters. New information about Epstein’s ties to Trump has been released, including a 2019 email that Epstein wrote to a journalist that said Trump “knew about the girls.” Trump has repeatedly denied knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and said he ended their relationship years before Epstein died. The president has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and the inclusion of someone’s name in files from the investigation does not imply otherwise. Epstein, a convicted sex offender, died by suicide in a jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. What To Know Representatives Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna, the bipartisan co-sponsors of the legislation, estimated on Sunday that dozens of Republicans would vote in favor of the bill. In his Truth Social post, Trump wrote that the Department of Justice has turned over “tens of thousands of pages to the Public” on Epstein and that the House Oversight Committee “can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON’T CARE!” He added: “All I do care about is that Republicans get BACK ON POINT.” On social media, Representative Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the committee, welcomed Trump’s reversal but noted that Trump can authorize the release of the files without a vote. “Stop the cover-up, RELEASE THE FILES!” Garcia wrote on X. Mike Nellis, a Democratic strategist who previously served as a senior adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris, said the “only reason” Trump was telling Republicans to vote or the bill “is because so many were already going to do it-likely well over 100 GOP votes.” Meanwhile, Bill Kristol, the conservative editor-at-large of The Bulwark and a Trump critic, questioned whether Trump’s reversal meant some of the files had already been destroyed. What People Are Saying Trump wrote in his Truth Social post on Sunday: “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. 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!” Representative Robert Garcia wrote on X: “.@realDonaldTrump I’m glad you finally realized that you are about to lose this Epstein vote and are now encouraging Republicans to VOTE YES. But you have the power to release them today without a vote. Stop the cover-up, RELEASE THE FILES!” Bill Kristol wrote on X: “Trump doesn’t have to call on House Republicans to vote to release the file. Trump can order Bondi and Patel to release the files. Tomorrow. The question is, has he already ordered Bondi and Patel to destroy some of the files after they went through them months ago.” Mike Nellis wrote on X: “The only reason Trump is telling Republicans to vote for the release of the Epstein files is because so many were already going to do it-likely well over 100 GOP votes. He was forced into this position, and it’s better to look like he’s going along than face a full-blown rebuke from his own party.” Former congressman Justin Amash wrote on X: “Trump tried and tried to block the House vote to release the Epstein files, but he’s clearly now been told he’s going to lose. So, in classic Trump fashion, he’s pretending he was always good with this vote-as he and his lackeys keep scheming to prevent it from going any further.” Eric Daugherty, a prominent pro-Trump media personality, wrote on X: “President Trump, who Democrats claimed for WEEKS has ‘something to hide’ in the Epstein Files, just. instructed Republicans to vote to release the Epstein Files. Within a matter of hours, this issue will be out of the news cycle. You played yourself, Democrats.” Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, said on ABC’s This Week on Sunday that “there could be 100 or more” votes from Republicans on the legislation to release the Epstein files. He said: “I’m hoping to get a veto-proof majority on this legislation when it comes up for a vote.” Asked why he thinks Trump wants to prevent the release of the files, Massie said: “You know, I’ve never said that these files will implicate Donald Trump. I really don’t think that they will. I think he’s trying to protect a bunch of rich and powerful friends, billionaires, donors to his campaign, friends in his social circles. And that’s my operating theory on why he’s trying so hard to keep these files closed.” House Speaker Mike Johnson said He’s not worried about it. I talk to him all the time. He has nothing to do with this. He’s frustrated that they’re turning it into a political issue and it’s not surprising, because the Democrats have nothing else to talk about.” Johnson said he expects the House will support the bill. He said: “I suspect there’ll be lots of votes and we’ll just get this done and move it on. There’s nothing to hide, and the Oversight Committee is releasing far more information than the discharge petition, their little gambit, ever even anticipated.” What’s Next Even if the bill passes the House, it would still need to be passed by the Senate and signed by Trump. Massie said on Sunday that he hopes Senate Majority Leader John Thune “will do the right thing,” adding that the “pressure is going to be there if we get a big vote in the House.” If enacted, the bill would force the Justice Department to release all files and communications on Epstein, as well as any information about the investigation into his death in federal prison. Information about Epstein’s victims or ongoing federal investigations would be allowed to be redacted.
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-sudden-reversal-epstein-files-scrutiny-11057033