Democrats are seizing on the latest controversy facing President Donald Trump as his MAGA supporters express outrage over the Department of Justice’s announcement that it will not be releasing any bombshell report related to the conviction of pedophile sex trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein.
From legislative procedure and public statements to even a musical performance, the minority party is using every lever it has to make the outrage over the Epstein files stick politically for Trump. Republicans are noticeably divided on the issue, so much so that MAGA darling, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., described it as a “red line” for many Trump supporters.
“The American people deserve to know the truth,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries during a Monday press conference. “What, if anything, is the Trump administration and the Department of Justice hiding?”
“There are only two things that are possible here. Option one: Donald Trump, Pam Bondi, and the MAGA extremists intentionally lied to the American people for years about the Jeffrey Epstein situation,” said Jeffries. “Option two is that, in fact, there’s reason for the American people to be concerned as it relates to what information has not been released that could be damaging to the Trump administration and the friends and family of the Trump administration and their billionaire corrupt supporters.”
On Monday, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., introduced a House amendment to force a vote demanding the “FULL Epstein files” be released to the public. However, Republicans, sans one lawmaker (Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C.), in the U.S. House Committee on Rules blocked Khanna’s proposal.
U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., used an unusual tactic to draw more attention to the Epstein controversy: he performed his interpretation of “Dreamsicle” by Jason Isbell in his congressional office.
“Epstein died by suicide/Believe that and you must be blind/You’ve been telling us you’d release the files, but where are they?” crooned the 70-year-old congressman. “We’ve gone along with what’s been told/You’ve had plenty of time in control, but now you say you’ll withhold the Epstein files.”
Johnson added, “Trump’s howling at the moon, release the Epstein files soon.”
For years, conspiracy theories have existed about Epstein’s jail suicide, his sex trafficking ring, and his connections to the wealthy and politically powerful. Trump, who Epstein claimed was his “closest friend,” and his allies repeatedly tried to tie the Epstein prosecution to Democratic Party elites like former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
However, after repeated assurances by Trump, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, and others, that information related to Epstein–including a so-called client list–would be made public, the administration announced last week that no such additional information would be released after a “thorough” review. This comes weeks after former White House advisor and X billionaire Elon Musk posted and later deleted a post claiming the Epstein files would never be made public because Trump was mentioned.
Before introducing his amendment to force the release of the Epstein files, Rep. Khanna connected the issue to the recent actions taken by Trump and Republicans, including more than $1 trillion in tax cuts for the nation’s top 1%.
“This is a question of whose side are you on? Are you on the side of protecting the rich and the powerful, who’ve put their thumb on the scales of government to suck out millions of dollars while working-class Americans suffer, or are you on the side of the people?” said Khanna. “This is a question of trust. We need to release the Epstein files so we can restore the government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
