Trump reverses course, calls on House Republicans to release Epstein files
A protest group called "Hot Mess" hold up signs of Jeffrey Epstein and President Donald Trump in front of the Federal courthouse on July 8, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump urged House Republicans to support releasing files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case, marking a surprising reversal from his earlier opposition to the idea.
What they're saying:
"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," Trump wrote on social media shortly after landing at Joint Base Andrews following a weekend in Florida.
RELATED: Epstein emails say Trump 'spent hours' with one of Epstein's victims
Trump asks DOJ to probe Epstein ties to Democrats
President Donald Trump has urged the Justice Department to launch an investigation into Bill Clinton and other notable Democrats over their alleged ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Will Weissert with the Associated Press joins LiveNOW's Austin Westfall to discuss that and other White House headlines.
The backstory:
Democrats and some Republicans have been pushing a measure that would force the Justice Department to make public more documents from the case.
RELATED: Epstein files latest: Grand jury transcript request denied
House to vote on releasing Epstein files
The House will vote on releasing the Epstein files next week. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) joins LiveNOW from FOX to discuss the latest.
Dig deeper:
The president’s shift is an implicit acknowledgement that supporters of the measure have enough votes to pass the House, although it has an unclear future in the Senate.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Johnson seems to expect the House will decisively back the Epstein bill.
The bill would force the Justice Department to release all files and communications related to 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.
Trump and Epstein
The backstory:
Trump's association with Epstein is well-established and the president's name was included in records that his own Justice Department released in February as part of an effort to satisfy public interest in information from the sex-trafficking investigation.
Trump has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and the mere inclusion of someone’s name in files from the investigation does not imply otherwise.
Epstein, who killed himself in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial, also had many prominent acquaintances in political and celebrity circles besides Trump.
The Source: The information in this story appears to come from statements made by President Donald Trump on his social media platform. The Associated Press contributed. This story was reported from Los Angeles.