Trump tells Republicans to vote to release Epstein files
By The Guardian, November 17, 2025US President Donald Trump has said he backs lawmakers’ efforts to release more files related to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, despite being previously opposed to the measure.
“House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, calling the controversy over his former friend’s criminality a “Democrat hoax.”
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Some critics have accused Trump of trying to conceal details, something the president denies, by looking to block the vote, which has divided his typically loyal Republican party.
“The House Oversight Committee can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON’T CARE! All I do care about is that Republicans get BACK ON POINT, which is the Economy, “Affordability”, Trump wrote on Truth Social.
On Sunday, November 16, 2025, Republican congressman Thomas Massie challenged Trump over whether the president was making a “last-ditch effort” to keep the full files on Epstein from becoming public by ordering a fresh investigation.
Massie and Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, the two US representatives leading the bipartisan push to make all the files held by the government public, both raised concerns about the latest actions by the White House.
Speaking on ABC’s This Week, Massie criticised Trump for ordering Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday, November 14, 2025, to examine Democrats with ties to Epstein.
Georgia Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has also demanded the release of all the Epstein documents, despite it causing a rift with Trump.
Known as the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the aim of the bill is to make the Justice Department release all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials linked to Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump posted the statement shortly after landing at Joint Base Andrews following a weekend in Florida.
“The Department of Justice has already turned over tens of thousands of pages to the Public on “Epstein,” are looking at various Democrat operatives (Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman, Larry Summers, etc.) and their relationship to Epstein, and the House Oversight Committee can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON’T CARE!,” Trump wrote, adding that he wanted Republicans to get “BACK ON POINT”.
Trump’s reference to Clinton comes after the US Justice Department confirmed it will investigate paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein’s said links to major banks and several prominent Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton.
Trump said he would ask Attorney General Pam Bondi and the FBI to look into Epstein’s “involvement and relationship” with Clinton and others.
Clinton has strongly denied he had any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
A spokesperson for JPMorgan Chase said the firm regrets “any association” they had with Epstein, and added that the firm “did not help him commit his heinous acts”.
Last week, thousands of Epstein’s emails were released by the US Congress, with the files including mentions of the US president. Democrats have accused Trump of trying to deflect from questions about his relationship with Epstein.
A review by the Wall Street Journal found that Trump was mentioned in more than 1,600 of the 2,324 email threads.