Trump Says Epstein Files Are Ruining Reputations
President Donald Trump expressed his belief that “people are very angry that pictures are being released” linking them to the infamous sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, following the Justice Department’s recent release of additional files related to the deceased financier. “People that really had nothing to do with Epstein, but they’re in a picture with him because he was in a party, and you ruin a reputation of somebody,” Trump stated on Monday. “Many individuals express significant frustration that this situation persists.” Trump expressed his disdain for the tarnishing of former President Bill Clinton, who was frequently mentioned in the release, calling the situation “terrible.” “But this is what the Democrats — mostly Democrats, and a couple of bad Republicans — are asking for,” Trump continued. “So they provide you with their photos of me as well.” Everyone had a relationship with this individual, whether it was amicable or not, but he was always present.
The Epstein files, along with the battle surrounding their release, have ignited discord among Trump’s supporters, compounding the political challenges the president confronts as he approaches next year’s midterm elections. The Justice Department last Friday revealed thousands of pages of photographs, phone records, and notes from the federal investigations into Epstein. However, a significant portion of the release was extensively redacted, and it failed to include the complete range of documents held by the government. This led to accusations from lawmakers across both parties that the Trump administration did not comply with a bipartisan law mandating the complete release of the files. The Justice Department stated that the amount of material was too extensive to be processed by the Dec. 19 deadline established by Congress, and that additional files would be released to the public in the upcoming weeks.
Critics expressed dissatisfaction with that explanation, with some suggesting that the gradual release was an effort to shield Trump, who had previously been friends with Epstein before their falling out in the mid-2000s. The president last month enacted the Epstein files legislation, doing so only after congressional Republicans exerted pressure that compelled him to reverse his earlier stance against it. A representative for Clinton on Monday expressed concerns that the restricted release of documents seemed intended to shield “someone or something” and urged for the prompt disclosure of all further materials pertaining to the former president. “Refusal to do so will confirm the widespread suspicion the Department of Justice’s actions to date are not about transparency, but about insinuation — using selective releases to imply wrongdoing about individuals who have already been repeatedly cleared by the very same Department of Justice,” said Angel Ureña in a statement.
On Monday, Trump highlighted that he had severed ties with Epstein and claimed that his political adversaries were exploiting the controversy to undermine him politically. “A lot of Republicans are angry because of the fact that it’s just used to deflect against a tremendous success,” Trump stated. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, the cosponsors of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, issued a warning to Attorney General Pam Bondi regarding potential contempt of Congress due to the department’s management of the release. “The quickest way, and I think most expeditious way to get justice for these victims is to bring inherent contempt against Pam Bondi,” Massie stated on Sunday. Trump referred to Massie as “a real low life” and a “loser” for collaborating with Democrats on the release of the documents. Numerous survivors of Epstein’s abuse criticized the Justice Department for its incomplete release of the files, which were significantly redacted. In a joint statement, they asserted that the decision to withhold full access to the files constituted a violation of the law.
