“We have nothing to hide,” said US President Donald Trump on Sunday on his social media account, Truth. It was a notable change of heart regarding the advisability of releasing the documents related to the case of the millionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, which are in the possession of the Department of Justice.
Before being re-elected, Trump and his allies promised they would do so as soon as they returned to the White House, but then changed their minds in July. Since then, they have blocked access to the contents of those files, while the Congressional Oversight Committee has been releasing court-ordered materials obtained from the financier's family.
Last week, Trump pressured House Republicans to sabotage a bill designed to mandate the declassification of his documents, forcing a vote that garnered 218 votes from both parties. That vote is scheduled for this Tuesday. This Monday, he asserted that if the legislation passes in Congress, he will not oppose its release, even though he has the power to veto it.
“Republicans,” the US president wrote in TruthSocial, “should vote to release the Epstein files because we have nothing to hide, and it’s time to turn the page on this Democratic hoax perpetrated by radical left-wing lunatics to distract from our great successes.”
This is a legislative initiative promoted by a Democrat, Ro Khanna (California), and a Republican, Thomas Massie (Kentucky). The latter received a nasty attack last Friday from Trump, who criticized him for remarrying a year after becoming a widower. Despite the tasteless message, Massie emerges strengthened from this crisis. Last week, he ventured that “between 40 and 50” of his fellow Republicans would vote for the release of the pedophile's files. This Monday, just hours before it was expected to be debated in the Capitol, he estimated that the initiative would be supported by “more than a hundred” conservatives.
Massie has pressured them by reminding them that Trump will not continue in the White House in three years, but that a vote"in favor of protecting pedophiles" will haunt them for the rest of their political careers.
Trump's change of heart appears to be an attempt to regain control of the narrative, which, as is well known, he dislikes losing. Part of that operation began last Friday, with his request to Attorney General Pam Bondi to launch investigations into the Democrats who regularly appear in the files being released. He named three: former President Bill Clinton, former Harvard President (and Clinton cabinet member) Larry Summers, and mega-donor Reid Hoffman. Bondi immediately said she would get to work.
Then, the Senate
It's worth remembering that allowing Republicans to vote in favor of releasing the files is nothing more than a charade. Trump would finish the job sooner—immediately, in fact—if he simply ordered Bondi to release the files, since he doesn't need Congress to do that.
If the proposal passes this Tuesday, it would go to the Senate, where 60 votes would be needed. The Democrats hold 47 seats. After that, Trump would have to sign the bill.
Robert Garcia, ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement Monday that Trump “has tried everything to stop the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.” “Now he has panicked and realized he is about to lose the vote on Epstein, which would force the Justice Department to release the files,” Garcia said. “Let’s be clear: Trump has the power to release all the files today. But instead, he wants to continue this cover-up and launch new sham investigations to deflect attention and delay our investigation. He will not succeed. We will get justice for the victims.”
A few of them released a video on Monday in which they pose with photos of themselves from the time they were abused by Epstein. “It’s time to shine a light on the darkness,” they say in the recording. They are scheduled to go to the Capitol tomorrow to pressure lawmakers with their presence.
Epstein died in 2019 in a maximum-security jail cell in Manhattan while awaiting trial for a sex trafficking ring involving hundreds of underage victims. The coroner ruled it a suicide. Conspiracy theorists suspect he was killed to prevent him from exposing the network's activities.
At the moment, there is no evidence regarding that client list. The release of all the files, now closer than just a few days ago, may finally dispel those suspicions.
