A simple campaign promise by President Donald Trump — to release the investigative files of billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — has erupted into a political storm that now threatens to split his coalition. This week, after months of efforts by his administration to tamp down the issue, Congress almost unanimously approved a bill requiring the documents’ release. Trump, who shifted his position days before the vote, signed the legislation, and the Justice Department must now make the files public within less than a month.
Expectations are high, fueled by years of conspiracy theories promoted by many in Trump’s closest circle. Some claims, including the existence of a “client list” of prominent figures linked to Epstein, have already been deemed nonexistent by federal officials.
“To see this turn into a battle is tearing MAGA apart,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said this week. She has stood with Epstein’s victims and announced late Wednesday she will leave Congress in January after a very public dispute with Trump over the issue. “The only thing that will satisfy the strong, brave women behind me is real action to release these documents. The American people won’t tolerate anything less,” she said.
Lesson in political opportunity
Epstein’s 2019 death in a New York jail cell spawned new conspiracy theories, particularly on the political right. During his campaign, before returning to the White House — and before leaked emails revealed his name appeared hundreds of times in various documents — Trump signaled openness to releasing the files. But once back in office, he sought to sweep the issue aside.
Trump: 'The Epstein case? It's boring stuff'
(Video: Reuters)
Attorney General Pam Bondi raised expectations for a full release but reversed course several months ago. The Justice Department’s shift angered Trump supporters, who accused the department of a “cover-up.” Democrats pounced.
In Congress, they looked for ways to force Republicans to vote in favor of releasing the files and launched a two-track effort: They opened an inquiry in the House Oversight Committee and rallied rare, near-unanimous support for a petition that bypasses the speaker’s control over which bills reach the floor.
That Democratic push — joined by several key Republicans, including Greene, whose clash with Trump is now costing her politically — culminated this week with the bill’s passage in both chambers. The release of the “Epstein files” has become a mainstream political demand in Washington that no one can ignore. Still, it remains unclear whether the full set will actually be made public.
‘The real test — the names’
At a news conference before the House vote, Democratic and Republican lawmakers joined several of Epstein’s victims and warned the administration not to delay the release. “The real test will be whether the Justice Department allows the list of names to be released,” Greene said.
She was referring to the allegedly secret “client list” that could implicate former officials — a long-running conspiracy theory echoed by Trump supporters. Bondi told Fox News in February that Epstein’s “client list” was “on my desk for review,” but her office later said no such list exists. In a memo released in July, the Justice Department said its review found no incriminating “client list.” It was one example of how the Trump administration helped build hype around the files.
Even before Congress intervened, tens of thousands of pages of records had been released over the years through civil lawsuits, criminal cases involving Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell and Freedom of Information Act requests. Lawmakers believe many more documents exist, but they have seen little indication that the Justice Department intends to produce them, despite a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee in August.
The lawmakers leading the push on Capitol Hill fear the administration may not comply and could block the release, but they say the bill’s approval — and the possibility of contempt of Congress — gives them leverage to demand full disclosure. “The president has realized, as Marjorie Taylor Greene said, that this is splitting his MAGA base,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat. “It would be foolish for him to have a drip, drip, drip fight. I mean, if he wants to fight over Epstein the remainder of his presidency, I suppose we can. But that’s not really smart.”
'Forgotten America against the Epstein class'
Khanna, a Silicon Valley progressive with ambitions to rise within the Democratic Party, hopes the Epstein fight will grow into a broader movement. He frames it as a modern version of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “forgotten class against the economic royalists.”
“This is a forgotten America against the Epstein class,” he told the AP. “There’s a real anger at an elite that people think are out of touch and taking away control over the lives.”
As Democrats look for ways to reconnect with working-class voters, Khanna believes the party should pursue issues like the Epstein files. “This crack,” he said, “is the answer to taking on Trump.”
The article Netanyahu shared, and the conspiracy theory: Epstein as Mossad agent
This saga, which has jolted the United States for years, has also pulled in Israel. Among the conspiracy theories circulated over time are claims of an alleged link between Epstein and the Mossad — accusations former prime minister Naftali Bennett formally denied in July, calling them “a complete falsehood.”
Israel’s current prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, added fuel to the fire on Thursday when he shared an article headlined “Jeffrey Epstein Claimed to Have Meddled in Israel’s Elections.” According to the report, newly uncovered documents show Epstein boasting that he helped bring Ehud Barak back into Israeli politics in 2019. “Oddly, that has been universally left out of media coverage,” the article said.
The article again raises the question of whether Epstein worked for Israeli intelligence. “The quote’s missing context fits squarely with the unofficial omertà in the mainstream press on discussing Epstein’s relationship to Israel — namely, the long-standing claims and rumors that the billionaire pedophile had been an asset or otherwise worked for Israeli intelligence,” it reads. “At minimum, it is an end to the widespread taboo of even asking questions about billionaire sex offender’s links to the Israeli state. Epstein brokered security deals for Israel, had a close friendship with one of its former prime ministers and military officials, and, apparently, even secretly involved himself in the country’s elections.”
Promoters of the theory that Epstein was a Mossad agent quickly reacted. One of them, prominent American commentator Megyn Kelly, shared Netanyahu’s post and wrote: “So I guess it’s not antisemitic to ask if Epstein was an asset for Israeli intel and we shouldn’t just take Ehud Barak’s word for it that he wasn’t? Got it.”
Former prime minister Bennett, however, issued a forceful denial not long ago. Responding on X to comments made by popular host Tucker Carlson that drew widespread attention, Bennett wrote: “As a former Israeli Prime Minister, with the Mossad having reported directly to me, I say to you with 100% certainty: The accusation that Jeffrey Epstein somehow worked for Israel or the Mossad running a blackmail ring is categorically and totally false.”
In his post, viewed by tens of millions, Bennett added: “This accusation is a lie being peddled by prominent online personalities such as Tucker Carlson pretending they know things they don’t. They just make things up, say it with confidence and these lies stick, because it’s Israel. There’s a vicious wave of slander and lies against my country and my people, and we just won’t take it anymore.”