President Donald Trump dismissed concerns about his administration’s management of the Jeffrey Epstein files as a “Democrat hoax” as victims of the convicted sex offender addressed the news media at a press conference on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.
“This is a Democrat hoax that never ends. You know, it reminds me a little of the Kennedy situation. We gave them everything over and over again, more and more and more, and nobody’s ever satisfied,” Trump told reporters Wednesday at White House, referring to the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
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Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) convened a press conference with Epstein victims on Wednesday on Capitol Hill as they collect signatures for a bipartisan discharge petition, which, if passed, would compel the Trump administration to disclose all of the federal government’s files regarding Epstein.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) would prefer an alternative bill that encourages the House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) to continue his investigation because it would not require a politically tough vote on his chamber’s floor.
To that end, the House Oversight Committee overnight released 30,000-odd pages of redacted Epstein documents, not the complete file that Trump’s Make America Great Again supporters demanded.
“From what I understand, I could check, but from what I understand, thousands of pages of documents have been given,” Trump said on Wednesday. “But it’s really a Democrat hoax because they’re trying to get people to talk about something that’s totally irrelevant to the success that we’ve had as a nation since I’ve been president.”
The Trump administration’s management of the Epstein files has divided Republicans, with many Trump officials encouraging conspiracy theories about Epstein before the president won reelection last year. Simultaneously, many Democrats who are now taking advantage of the divide were not as vocal about the case under previous administrations.
During the informal press conference with Polish President Karol Nawrocki in the Oval Office, Trump similarly expressed frustration with another reporter for saying he has not acted against Russia amid its war against Ukraine. He had moments earlier committed to keeping U.S. military personnel in Poland, which shares a border with Ukraine.
“How do you know there’s no action? Would you say that putting secondary sanctions on India, the largest purchaser [of Russian oil] outside of China?” he asked. “I haven’t done phase two yet or phase three, but when you say there’s no action, I think you ought to get yourself a new job.”
Trump also responded to questions about China‘s military parade overnight in Beijing to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Japan‘s surrender in World War II. The parade was attended by what has been called the Axis of Upheaval, members of which include Russia, North Korea, and Iran.
Trump described the ceremony as “beautiful” and “very, very impressive,” though he complained Chinese President Xi Jinping did not acknowledge the help China received from the United States in ending the war. In a late-night Truth Social post, Trump had accused China, Russia, and North Korea of “conspiring” against the U.S.
EPSTEIN VICTIMS DRAW HUGE CROWD AT CAPITOL AS THEY DEMAND TRANSPARENCY
“I understood the reason they were doing it,” he said on Wednesday. “They were hoping I was watching, and I was watching. My relationship with all of them is very good. We’re going to find out how good it is over the next week or two.”