House Democratic leaders on Wednesday stepped up their hardball criticism of President Trump and the GOP over the Jeffrey Epstein controversy, accusing their rivals of shielding pedophiles by not releasing federal files surrounding the case.
The Democrats say the decision of GOP leaders to leave Washington a day early for the long summer recess — a move precipitated by Democratic efforts to force votes compelling the Trump administration to release those files — is indication that Republicans don’t want the details of the Epstein case revealed because they might implicate wealthy GOP donors, or even President Trump himself.
“What a fitting end to these six months of Republican control in Washington,” Rep. Katherine Clark (Mass.), the Democratic whip, said during a press briefing in the Capitol. “Instead of doing their jobs — instead of standing up for kids, for families, instead of standing on the side of transparency and accountability — Republicans are running away, all to avoid the release of the Epstein client list, all to cover-up for pedophiles.”
The fiery rhetoric comes as the House has been effectively shutdown by Democrats seeking votes on Epstein-related measures, which have divided Republicans. Some Republicans have backed releasing all files held by the Department of Justice, while others have argued for some discretion.
Democrats, who have been on their heels for much of Trump’s six months in office, have rallied around the issue.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said the administration’s refusal to release the files — combined with the efforts by House Republicans to avoid votes on the issue — are part of a broader GOP effort to prioritize policies that benefit the rich and powerful.
“In the context of this Jeffrey Epstein scandal, and their refusal to share information to the American people despite promising to do so, one must ponder the question: What are they hiding from the American people? And what billionaires, what well-connected donors, what elite people are they trying to protect? Why haven’t Republicans released the Epstein files to the American people?” Jeffries said.
“It’s reasonable to conclude that Republicans are continuing to protect the lifestyles of the rich and shameless — even if that includes pedophiles,” he continued. “That’s a conclusion that, if this continues, one will necessarily be compelled to reach.”
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced Tuesday that the House will scrap the week’s legislative plans in response to the Democrats’ strategy of forcing votes in the Rules Committee to release the Epstein files. The tactic divided Republicans on the Rules panel, paralyzing the committee. Without legislation to vote on, Johnson said the chamber will recess on Wednesday, rather than Thursday, for the previously scheduled summer break.
On Wednesday, Johnson defended those moves and rejected the Democrats’ accusations out of hand. He said he supports every effort to punish those who committed crimes alongside Epstein — “We want the full weight of the law to fall upon their head,” he said — but because the Trump administration says it’s already moving to release the files, there’s no need for Congress to force its hand. He’s accusing Democrats of playing “political games” for the sole purpose of damaging Trump.
“There is no point in having a vote today because the administration is already doing everything within their power to release them,” Johnson told reporters in the Capitol. “They’ve gone to the grand jury, they’ve requested the courts to unseal the documents so that they can be released. The president himself has said all credible evidence should be put out to the American people while protecting the innocent.
“That’s where we stand as well.”
The saga surrounding Epstein, the late financier and convicted pedophile, has posed a huge challenge to Trump six months into his second term.
On the campaign trail, the president had vowed to release the Justice Department’s records on the case; Vice President Vance had said it was “important” to take that step; and a number of Trump supporters who had promoted the conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein — namely, that the government was concealing the files to shield powerful “elites” from criminal charges — have since assumed positions of high power in the Trump administration, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel.
Those placements led to expectations among the MAGA faithful that releasing the Epstein records would be a top priority of Trump’s second term. Instead, the DOJ last week released an unsigned memo refuting all of the most damning theories surrounding the case. Epstein had no “client list,” the DOJ said, nor is there evidence that he tried to blackmail powerful figures who might have committed crimes with minors.
The agency also concluded that Epstein’s 2019 death in a Manhattan prison was by suicide, not foul play, as some far-right voices have speculated.
The DOJ memo infuriated many of Trump’s most ardent supporters, on and off of Capitol Hill. And the outcry has posed the most serious threat to the unity of the MAGA movement since Trump’s entrance into the world of politics.
Democrats have been eager to exacerbate those divisions by highlighting Trump’s past ties to Epstein and pushing resolutions designed to force the release of the DOJ files.
But voices on the right have also been frustrated by DOJ’s actions, and a minority have expressed criticism of Trump himself.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-Ga.), a staunch Trump ally, is also pushing to have the Epstein files publicized. And Rep. Tom Massie (R-Ky.), who frequently clashes with Trump, has taken a leading role in the effort to compel the administration to release the documents.
Massie, a wildcard in his party who has also feuded with Johnson, accused the Speaker of shielding pedophiles.
“@SpeakerJohnson, why are you running cover for an underage sex trafficking ring and pretending this is a partisan issue?” Massie posted on X. “MAGA voted for this.”
Mychael Schnell contributed reporting.
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