The reason Trump will sign bill to release Epstein files: 'All his friends were Democrats'

US President Donald Trump on Monday said he would sign the bipartisan bill requiring the Department of Justice to release case files from investigations into deceased Jeffrey Epstein if the House and Senate pass it and send it to his desk.

Asked about the bill, formally known as the Epstein Files Transparency Act, during an Oval Office event with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Trump told reporters, “I do want to sign.”

Trump defended himself against longstanding associations with Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. “We have nothing to do with Epstein. The Democrats do. All of his friends were Democrats,” he said, citing Larry Summers and Bill Clinton as examples.

The proposal would compel the Justice Department to make public every record and exchange connected to Epstein, along with any material tied to the inquiry into his death while in federal custody.  

Comparing the debate over the release of Epstein-related FBI files to historic public demands for long-classified records, Trump referenced the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. “No matter what we give, it’s never enough. You know, with Kennedy, we gave everything, and it wasn’t enough. With Martin Luther King, we gave everything, and it’s never enough,” he said. He added that the DOJ had already provided “50,000 pages” and described ongoing criticism as a “Russia, Russia, Russia hoax as it pertains to the Republicans.”

House vote approaches amid political manoeuvring

The bill, sponsored in the House by Republican Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democrat Ro Khanna of California, is expected to be voted on Tuesday after 218 members forced Speaker Mike Johnson to schedule a vote using a rarely employed discharge petition. This includes all 214 House Democrats and four Republicans: Massie, Nancy Mace, Lauren Boebert, and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Johnson had previously kept the House out of session for over six weeks to delay the swearing-in of Arizona Representative Adelita Grijalva, who became the final signature needed for the petition. Following her swearing-in and signature, the vote was scheduled.

The bill must still pass the Senate to reach Trump’s desk. Majority Whip John Barrasso indicated on Sunday that the legislation could face resistance from some Republicans, although Trump has urged support.

Trump and advisers, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, reportedly attempted to persuade Boebert, Greene and Mace to withdraw their signatures before Grijalva’s swearing-in. Following the clear trajectory for House passage, Trump reversed his stance, urging GOP backing while framing the matter as both a hoax regarding his connections to Epstein and an underreported scandal involving Democrats.

Writing on Truth Social late Sunday, Trump encouraged House Republicans to vote for the release, stating: “we have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party.” He added that the Department of Justice has already turned over “tens of thousands” of documents and is reviewing “various Democrat operatives” mentioned in them, including Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman and Larry Summers.

Trump concluded that the House Oversight Committee “can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON’T CARE!” and emphasised that Republicans should focus on celebrating what he describes as his administration’s achievements on the economy and affordability.