Donald Trump’s abrupt reversal on releasing Jeffrey Epstein files has exposed a rare inability to control his Maga base, forcing him to accede to demands he initially opposed. The president spent last week pressuring allies like Lauren Boebert and Nancy Mace to drop their support for releasing the files, but after failing, he endorsed the measure on Truth Social, stating, “House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide.”
The House oversight committee recently released documents from Epstein’s estate, including messages showing Epstein wrote that Trump knew of his conduct, and that Trump ally Steve Bannon advised Epstein on rehabilitating his image. The release has increased scrutiny on Trump and built pressure to release all government files on Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges involving girls as young as 14.
The issue has sparked a bitter split among Republicans, with Marjorie Taylor Greene criticising Trump’s efforts to block the release. Trump attacked Greene as a “traitor,” prompting her to say on CNN that such rhetoric could “radicalize people against me and put my life in danger.” She reported hoax pizza deliveries and a pipe bomb threat directed at her construction company.
Many Republicans are expected to support a House vote this week to force the justice department to release the files. The measure would still need Senate approval, where 13 Republican senators would need to join all 47 Democrats. Some Maga influencers, like Megyn Kelly, have sought to downplay Epstein’s crimes, questioning whether he was a pedophile despite his 2008 guilty plea for soliciting an underage prostitute.
