Trump Urges House Republicans to Back Release of Epstein Files in Major Reversal

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday night called on House Republicans to vote in favour of releasing Justice Department files related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein - a significant shift from his earlier opposition.

“House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform after returning to Washington from Florida. He dismissed the matter as a “Democrat hoax” aimed at distracting from Republican political gains.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which would compel the Justice Department to publicly release all unclassified records, communications, and investigative materials connected to Epstein. Bipartisan support for the bill appears strong, with Republican Representative Thomas Massie estimating that up to 100 GOP lawmakers could vote in favour.

While the House is likely to approve the legislation, its prospects in the Senate remain uncertain. If passed by both chambers, Trump would still need to sign the bill into law.

Trump’s reversal comes amid increasing pressure from both parties, as well as from Epstein survivors and advocates, who have urged lawmakers to prioritise transparency. In a letter to Congress, survivors and the family of Virginia Giuffre — one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers — appealed for the files to be made public, writing: “Imagine if you yourself were a survivor. What would you want for yourself?”

The shift also follows the release of new email exchanges by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, including correspondence between Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell that referenced Trump. In one 2011 email, Epstein wrote that “the dog that hasn’t barked is Trump,” adding that a victim had spent “hours at my house with him.” House Republicans responded by releasing a larger set of more than 20,000 documents, accusing Democrats of “cherry-picking” to smear the president.

Trump’s call for transparency also reflects growing tension within his own party. He has recently criticised Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene — typically one of his staunchest allies — calling her “wacky” and a “traitor” after she pressed for full disclosure of Epstein-related materials.

The Justice Department has already released tens of thousands of pages of documents and has confirmed ongoing inquiries into Epstein’s ties to major banks and several prominent figures, including former President Bill Clinton, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. Both Hoffman and Summers have publicly denied any wrongdoing.

Despite being photographed together decades ago, Trump has long maintained that he distanced himself from Epstein before the financier’s criminal cases. Emails released last week, however, suggested Epstein believed Trump “knew about the girls,” though the context and meaning of the remark remain unclear.

As the House prepares for its vote, Trump has said he will direct Attorney General Pam Bondi and the FBI to examine Epstein’s connections to Clinton and other high-profile individuals, reiterating that Republicans should “get back on point.”