President Donald Trump on Wednesday downplayed renewed efforts in Congress to release all remaining files related to Jeffrey Epstein, dismissing the push as a political distraction. Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump called the controversy “a Democrat hoax that never ends.”
“From what I understand, thousands of pages of documents have already been provided,” Trump said. “But it’s really a Democrat hoax because they’re trying to get people to focus on something totally irrelevant to the success we’ve had as a nation since I’ve been president.”
Trump’s comments came as survivors of Epstein’s abuse joined lawmakers on Capitol Hill to demand the full release of records currently withheld by the Justice Department.
Trump’s remarks drew swift and emotional reactions. Haley Robson, one of the survivors advocating for file transparency, called his words deeply painful.
“It felt like being gutted from the inside out,” she said.
“Mr. President Donald J. Trump, I am a registered Republican — not that it should matter — because this is not political. I invite you to meet me in the Capitol so you can understand this is not a hoax. We are real human beings. This is real trauma.”
The controversy has sparked a bipartisan battle in the House over how to proceed. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna are leading a discharge petition to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files. As of Wednesday afternoon, the petition had 206 signatures, just 12 short of the 218 required to bring the measure to the House floor.
So far, only four Republicans have signed the petition:
- Thomas Massie
- Nancy Mace
- Marjorie Taylor Greene
- Lauren Boebert
If all 212 Democrats sign on, only two additional Republican votes would be needed.
But House Speaker Mike Johnson urged GOP members not to support the discharge petition, according to multiple sources present during a closed-door conference meeting. Instead, Johnson backed a resolution directing the House Oversight Committee to continue its ongoing investigation into the Epstein case.
The House passed Johnson’s preferred resolution by a vote of 212–208–1 on Wednesday.
Massie dismissed the move as a “placebo vote”, arguing it lacks the immediacy and transparency of a full release.
Despite publicly brushing off the matter, Speaker Johnson said he spoke with Trump Tuesday night, and that the former president encouraged him to pursue the release of the files:
“He told me, ‘Get it out there. Put it all out there,’” Johnson recounted.
Johnson argued that the Oversight Committee’s approach goes even further than the discharge petition, allowing for subpoena power and expanded requests — including access to documents from Epstein’s estate, which the petition does not currently cover.
“This is going to be an ongoing effort. It will be bipartisan,” Johnson said. “And we’re going after even more than what’s being asked for in the discharge petition.”
The debate over how to handle the Epstein files underscores growing divisions within the Republican Party — between those demanding immediate disclosure and those preferring a more procedural, investigative path. Meanwhile, survivors and advocates continue to urge that justice and transparency take precedence over politics.
