WASHINGTON (AP) – What started as a campaign promise: Jeffrey Epstein The filing has become one of the toughest tests of President Donald Trump’s second term. This would create rifts in his political coalition and raise the stakes for his administration, which is under intense pressure to produce a document that could fall far short of public expectations.
The issue came to a head this week. After several months of effort by trump In order to suppress it, the government has moved both houses of Congress. Congress passed Measures to force release of Epstein files with near-unanimous support. President Trump, who reversed course and celebrated the effort just days before the vote, signed the bill into law on Wednesday, giving it a 30-day deadline. Ministry of Justice To deliver records.
Expectations are sky-high due to conspiracy theories that many in Trump’s orbit have been promoting for years now. However, it is believed that this has already been done due to several claims, including a “client list” of prominent men rumored to have ties to Epstein. There are no federal officials.the anti-establishment coalition that Trump has built by elevating these theories is showing cracks Expected releases may expand further.
“MAGA is torn apart to see this actually turn into a fight,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said this week, surrounded by Epstein survivors ahead of the House vote.
“The only thing that resonates with the strong and courageous women behind me is when action will actually be taken to release these files,” Green said. announced late Friday She plans to resign from parliament in January. “And the American people will not tolerate another bull—”
How did the Epstein file enter the political mainstream?
Mr. Epstein’s abuse and death in a New York prison in 2019 have long generated conspiracy theories, especially on the political right.
During his campaign, President Trump expressed openness to releasing investigative documents, nodding to opposition demands for the release of government documents related to other high-profile cases, including the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.
But Trump’s return to office has made it difficult not only to satisfy the desires of conspiracy theorists, but also to expose records of federal investigations. less attractive. Attorney General Pam Bondi raised hopes of a full release, but reversed course over the summer. Her attempt to close the book on the Epstein case has infuriated many on the right.
This was the first sign of cracks in President Trump’s coalition, and Democrats took notice.
Congress has begun exploring ways to force Republicans to vote on releasing the Epstein files. Eventually, they found traction in two orbits. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform should open an investigation and fully support the rarely successful petitions that circumvent the Speaker’s control over which bills are considered.
The Democratic effort, which included several key Republicans, including Greene, culminated last week with the bill passing with overwhelming support in both chambers of Congress. It was a sign that the Epstein file had risen from the realm of obscure conspiracy theorists to a political force that no political party could deny.
Still, it is unclear whether the complete file will ever be released or whether public interest in the file will be satisfied.
Release and Restrictions on Content Contained in Files
At a news conference Tuesday ahead of the House vote, the bill’s sponsors, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Rep. Thomas Massey (R-Ky.), along with Greene and several Epstein survivors, warned the government not to hold anything back.
“The real test will be whether the Justice Department releases the files or whether everything remains tied up in the investigation,” Greene said, adding that “the real test will be whether the list of names is made public.”
Bondi told Fox News in February that Epstein’s “client list” was “on my desk right now for review,” but the department has since reversed course and said no such list exists. In a July letter, the Justice Department said its investigation had not uncovered an incriminating “client list.”
This is an example of how the Trump administration has contributed to the hype surrounding the release of the files, and a reminder of the political dangers of not being able to provide material that the Trump administration has long believed to be hidden.
Tens of thousands of pages of records were destroyed before Congress got involved. released We have been active for many years through civil litigation, Epstein and Maxwell public criminal records, Freedom of Information, and Freedom of Information Act requests.
Lawmakers believe there are more documents out there, but despite a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee in August, there has been little indication that the Justice Department is prepared to release that information.
Khanna said he still has concerns about how fully the administration will comply, but believes passing the bill and the possibility of flouting Congress will give lawmakers leverage. He declined to speculate on who might appear in the file, but said he expects a whistleblower will come forward if something is covered up.
“As Marjorie Taylor Greene said, the president realized that this was dividing his MAGA base,” Khanna said.
“It would be foolish for him to fight IV, IV, IV. I mean, if he wanted to fight over Epstein for the rest of his presidential term, I think he could. But it wouldn’t be very wise.”
“The Forgotten America vs. the Epstein Class”
Khanna, a Silicon Valley progressive seeking higher office, hopes the Epstein fight will develop into a broader movement, which he describes as a modern-day version of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “forgotten class against economic royalists.”
“This is the forgotten America of the Epstein class,” Khanna said in an interview.
“There is real anger at elites who think people are going out of line and taking control of their lives,” he added.
As Democrats look for ways to reconnect with working-class voters, Khanna believes the party should pursue causes like the Epstein scandal. He has already begun talks with Massey and Green about teaming up again.
Khanna said of the Epstein vote that “this rift” was “the answer to countering Trump.”
