Trump calls on House Republicans to vote to release Epstein documents

US President Donald Trump has called on House Republicans to vote to release Epstein documents, reversing his previous position.

“House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein documents because we have nothing to hide,” Trump wrote on The Truth Society on Sunday night.

The major shift in Trump’s stance comes as dozens of Republicans are likely to signal they are willing to break ranks and vote to release the documents.

The House is expected to vote this week on legislation that would force the Justice Department to publicly release the documents. Backers of the bill appear to have enough votes to pass it in the House, but it’s unclear whether it will pass the Senate.

If approved by both chambers, Trump would also have to sign the documents for release.

Democrats and some Republicans support the legislation. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, a co-sponsor of the bill, told ABC News on Sunday that as many as 100 Republicans likely to vote yes.

The bill, known as the Epstein Dossier Transparency Act, aims to have the Justice Department release all unclassified records, documents, communications and investigative materials related to pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump made the statement shortly after arriving at Joint Base Andrews after spending the weekend in Florida.

“The Department of Justice has turned over tens of thousands of pages about ‘Epstein’ to the public, is investigating various Democratic operatives (Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman, Larry Summers, etc.) and their ties to Epstein, and the House Oversight Committee can have whatever rights they are legally entitled to, I don’t care!” Trump wrote, adding that he wanted Republicans to “get back to business.”

Trump’s mention of Clinton came after the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed it would investigate Epstein’s alleged ties to major banks and several prominent Democrats, including former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

Trump said he would ask Attorney General Pam Bondi and the FBI to investigate Epstein’s “involvement and relationships” with Clinton and others.

Clinton has vehemently denied he had any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.

Trump’s reversal came after Democrats on the House Oversight Committee last week released three email exchanges between Epstein, who died in prison in 2019, and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking.

some of these exchanges mention of trump. In an email sent in 2011, Epstein wrote to Maxwell: “I want you to realize that the dog that did not bark was Trump… (the victim) was in my house with him for several hours.”

Hours after the exchanges were released, House Republicans released a much larger batch of 20,000 documents to counter what they said was an effort by Democrats to “cherry-pick” documents. They also said it was an attempt to “create a false narrative to defame President Trump.”

The House later announced it would vote next week on the broader release of Epstein materials.

In comments Sunday night, Trump reiterated that the White House had dismissed the Epstein documents, calling them a “hoax” led by Democrats. House Speaker Mike Johnson said in an interview on Fox News that a vote to release the documents would quell allegations that Trump had any ties to Epstein’s abuse and trafficking of teenagers.

Trump and Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, historically one of his fiercest defenders, Public dispute over documents.

Trump called Greene “weird” in a social media post on Friday and said she should be ousted from office in next year’s election. On Saturday, he called her a “traitor.”

Greene, in turn, questioned whether Trump still adheres to “America First” and criticized his handling of the Epstein dossier.

In a letter to Congress, the family of Epstein survivor and prominent Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre called on U.S. lawmakers to vote for the release of the documents.

“Remember, your first duty is to your constituents. Look into the eyes of your children, your sisters, your mothers and your aunts,” the letter reads.

“Imagine if they were looted. Imagine if you were a survivor yourself. What do you want for them? What do you want for yourself? When you vote, we will remember your decision at the ballot box.”