WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday that he would sign legislation authorizing the release of files from the federal investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, a move that could bring long-withheld documents about the late financier and convicted sex offender into public view.
Speaking to reporters during an Oval Office event, Trump was asked directly whether he would approve such a bill if it reached his desk.
“Sure I would,” Trump replied, then quickly added that he believed the documents would prove more embarrassing for Democrats than Republicans.
“It is really a Democrat problem,” the president said. “The Democrats were Epstein’s friends, all of them. And it is a hoax, the whole thing is a hoax.”
Trump’s comments followed his abrupt reversal late Sunday, when he urged House Republicans to support the bipartisan measure after his administration had previously worked to discourage GOP backing. The bill’s prospects remain uncertain in the Republican-controlled Senate.
The president also sought to highlight Democrats with past ties to Epstein, pointing to former President Bill Clinton and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, both of whom appeared in Epstein-related emails released last week by the House Oversight Committee.
A spokesperson for Summers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Clinton has repeatedly denied having a close relationship with Epstein and has said he cut off contact with him years before Epstein’s 2019 death in federal custody.
Since Trump’s Sunday night shift, Republican support for the legislation has grown rapidly. Lawmakers from the party’s conservative wing, including Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., as well as moderates such as Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska and Rep. Kevin Kiley of California, have announced they will vote for the bill. Additional Republican votes are expected when the measure comes to the House floor.
The proposed legislation would require the Justice Department to release remaining unsealed records from its Epstein investigation, including grand-jury materials and other documents that have remained shielded despite earlier partial disclosures.
