US President Donald Trump has urged House Republicans to vote to release all government-held files on the late convicted paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, saying “we have nothing to hide.”
Trump reversed his earlier opposition on Sunday night after House Democrats released a small batch of Epstein-related emails, some referencing him.
He has long denied any involvement in Epstein’s crimes and dismissed renewed attention as a Democrat-driven “hoax.”
Republicans increasingly appear ready to support the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which would force the Justice Department to publish all unclassified records.
The bill is expected to pass the House this week, though the Senate outcome is uncertain.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump said the Justice Department had already released “tens of thousands of pages” and insisted, “the House Oversight Committee can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON’T CARE!” He urged Republicans to “get BACK ON POINT.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson backed Trump’s position, saying Democrats were using the issue as a political weapon.
“Trump has clean hands… He’s not worried about it,” Johnson told Fox News.
Democrats last week released three email exchanges between Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, including a 2011 email in which Epstein wrote: “that dog that hasn’t barked is Trump… [VICTIM] spent hours at my house with him.”
The White House said the victim was Virginia Giuffre and that the emails do not allege wrongdoing by Trump.
Republicans later published 20,000 additional files, accusing Democrats of “cherry-picking” to “slander” the president.
The push for transparency has sparked a feud between Trump and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who accused him of abandoning “America First.”
Trump called her “wacky” and a “traitor” and suggested she should be unseated.
Survivors and Giuffre’s family urged lawmakers to support full disclosure, writing: “Imagine if you yourself were a survivor. What would you want for yourself?”
The Justice Department has confirmed it is also examining Epstein’s ties to major banks and prominent Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
BBC/Maxwell Oyekunle
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