The US president says he backs lawmakers’ efforts to release the files before an expected House vote this week. Plus: is there a dark side to gratitude?
Donald Trump has urged his fellow Republicans in Congress to vote for the release of files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, reversing his previous resistance to such a move.
Trump’s post on his Truth Social platform came after the House speaker, Mike Johnson, said that he believed a vote on releasing justice department documents in the Epstein case should help put to rest allegations “that he [Trump] has something to do with it”.
The president wrote on Truth Social last night: “House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files because we have nothing to hide.”
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Why the sudden U-turn? The House was expected to vote to release the files anyway, as early as tomorrow. There has been fervent suspicion within Trump’s usually loyal Maga base that the administration is hiding details of Epstein’s crimes to protect the rich elite with whom the financier associated – including Trump.
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Has Trump made up with Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has been calling for the files to be released? No, he doubled down on his attacks against the Republican lawmaker, despite his reversal on resisting the release of the Epstein files. Greene, meanwhile, has said she hopes they can make it up.
