President Donald Trump called those who are demanding greater transparency about the Epstein files "weaklings"—even though they include some of his most loyal supporters.Andrew Leyden/ZUMA
President Donald Trump seems unfamiliar with the Streisand effect, the phenomenon of inadvertently drawing more attention to an issue by trying to make it go away.
The president on Wednesday unleashed another rant on Truth Social, claiming, without evidence, that Democrats are behind the uproar over the administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Referring to Democrats, Trump wrote on social media that their “new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax.” He then appeared to turn on his own supporters: “My PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bullshit,’ hook, line, and sinker. They haven’t learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years.”
Trump’s fury comes as several Republicans join prominent MAGA figures in the call to release more information regarding the disgraced financier, after the DOJ and FBI claimed last week that there was nothing more to publicly share on his death, nor was there any evidence that Epstein maintained a “client list.” The Republicans calling for more transparency include some of his most loyal allies: daughter-in-law Lara Trump, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), and now, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer.
The most surprising and high-profile voice to weigh in, though, might be House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who told right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson on Tuesday, “We should put everything out there and let the people decide.”
On top of that, Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) sent a letter to Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, on Tuesday, requesting that the committee invite Ghislaine Maxwell—Epstein’s right-hand woman who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the sex trafficking of minors—to testify before Congress, or subpoena her if she refuses. Greene and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) both told Johnson they would support forcing Maxwell to testify. A spokesperson for the House Oversight Committee did not respond to a request for comment from Mother Jones on Wednesday.
Also on Tuesday, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said he was introducing a discharge petition calling for a vote on a bipartisan bill, introduced with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), to force the release of all the Epstein files; that would include flight logs, names of people and entities with ties to Epstein, sealed settlements, and any internal DOJ communications about declining to charge or investigate associates of Epstein. The petition allows representatives to bypass House leadership by bringing a vote on a bill provided they secure the support of 218 members. “We all deserve to know what’s in the Epstein files, who’s implicated, and how deep this corruption goes,” Massie wrote on X. “Americans were promised justice and transparency.” Whether that will garner enough support, though, remains to be seen; Republicans have twice voted against Khanna’s measure in the past two days.
Spokespeople for the White House did not respond to questions from Mother Jones about the latest calls from prominent Republicans to release the files.
In his Truth Social rant on Wednesday, Trump dismissed the groundswell of calls from within the GOP. “Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats’ work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore!” In the Oval Office shortly after, Trump doubled down, telling reporters he would support Bondi releasing “credible” documents, adding, “He’s dead. He’s gone. And all it is is certain Republicans got duped by the Democrats and they’re following a Democrat playbook.”
As my colleague Anna Merlan wrote yesterday, the combination of years-long calls by MAGA—led by Trump himself—to release the files, coupled with Trump’s now-desperate attempts to make it all go away, has all but guaranteed it never actually will.
