FT: Donald Trump backs vote to release Jeffrey Epstein files

Key topics:Trump urges GOP to back release of Epstein files amid party revoltHouse vote on Epstein documents deepens Republican divisionsLeaked files fuel political pressure on Trump over Epstein links.Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By James Politi in Washington.Donald Trump has urged Republicans to back a vote to release files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in an abrupt shift after having previously fought attempts to make the documents public.The US president made the appeal ahead of a vote scheduled for Tuesday in the House of Representatives that looked set to deliver him a damaging blow.A growing number of Republicans in the lower chamber of Congress have signalled in recent days that they were willing to defy Trump and support releasing the Epstein files, in what would be the most serious revolt from within the president’s own party in his second term in the White House.“House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we’ve got nothing to hide,” Trump wrote on Truth Social..Read more:.Jeffrey Epstein files - a once friendly ghost haunting Trump, splitting MAGA base.“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, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown’,” he added.Tuesday’s House vote would compel the justice department to release its documents related to Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.The president’s struggle to contain the furore over the Epstein files has compounded the pressure he has been facing on the economy, with polls showing public sentiment souring on his ability to tackle persistently high inflation and broader cost-of-living concerns.Trump’s troubles multiplied last week after Democrats on the House oversight committee published some files, including emails in which Epstein said Trump “knew about the girls” and was “the dog that hasn’t barked”.Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting sex with a minor. Documents including his private communications have exposed Epstein’s ties to a host of public figures, spurring calls for investigations.Trump has said he was friends with Epstein for 15 years, but that they fell out more than two decades ago. He has vehemently denied any involvement in the disgraced financier’s crimes.The Epstein case has been politically damaging for Trump, opening up a rift with Republican allies on Capitol Hill who had expected all the files to be released during his second term.In particular, his ties to Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia congresswoman who was previously one of Trump’s staunchest backers, have deteriorated sharply since she championed the disclosure of the Epstein files.“I believe the country deserves transparency on these files. And I don’t believe that rich, powerful people should be protected if they have done anything wrong,” Greene told CNN on Sunday.Trump has responded in recent days by calling Greene a “traitor” and saying he no longer endorses her, opening the door for her to face a strong primary challenge in next year’s midterm elections.Thomas Massie, a Kentucky House Republican who has clashed with Trump in the past on Epstein, had warned the White House that support among the party for releasing the files was growing rapidly.“I think we could have a deluge of Republicans. There could be 100 or more. I’m hoping to get a veto-proof majority on this legislation when it comes up for a vote,” he told broadcaster ABC..© 2025 The Financial Times Ltd.

FT: Donald Trump backs vote to release Jeffrey Epstein files

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