US President Donald Trump has called on Republicans in Congress to support the release of files tied to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, reversing his earlier reluctance to back such action.
His message on Truth Social came after House Speaker Mike Johnson said a vote to disclose Justice Department documents linked to Epstein could help dispel accusations suggesting Mr Trump had any involvement in Epstein’s exploitation and trafficking of minors, reports RTE.
“House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide,” Mr Trump wrote last night.
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While Mr Trump and Epstein were photographed together many years ago, the president has insisted they fell out long before Epstein’s criminal convictions, reports RTE.
Emails made public last week by a House committee indicated that the disgraced financier believed Mr Trump “knew about the girls”, though the meaning of that remark remained unclear.
Mr Trump, who recently dismissed the Epstein files as a partisan smear effort, has since directed the Department of Justice to look into prominent Democrats’ links to Epstein, reports RTE.
The dispute over whether to release additional Epstein-related records — an issue Mr Trump once championed — has created tensions with some of his congressional allies.
Late on Friday, Mr Trump withdrew his endorsement of Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, once among his strongest supporters, following her criticism of Republicans on multiple matters, including their handling of the Epstein files, reports RTE.
Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who helped initiate the petition demanding a vote on the release, said he anticipated that more than 40 Republicans would back the measure.
Republicans currently hold a narrow House majority with 219 seats compared to the Democrats’ 214, reports RTE.
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