The ghost of Jeffrey Epstein has returned to haunt President Trump and the Republican Party.
The Trump administration was forced to reopen the Epstein case, the House ground to a halt to avoid voting on Epstein bills and Republican lawmakers made plans to subpoena Epstein’s madam.
Found dead in his jail cell in 2019, the disgraced financier has nonetheless hijacked Washington’s agenda.
On Tuesday, Speaker Mike Johnson announced that the House would adjourn early for the summer recess, abandoning plans to vote on immigration legislation this week.
Lawmakers will instead flee the Capitol on Wednesday to avoid forced votes on a Democratic measure that would require the Justice Department to release its stash of sealed files on Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.
Democrats say Mr. Trump’s name will appear in the sordid documents, even though the two men ended their friendship nearly two decades ago. The vote would be a political nightmare for Republican lawmakers, much to the delight of Democrats, even though they never asked the Biden administration to release the Epstein files.
“The American people deserve to know the full extent of who was involved with Epstein, and all of them must be held accountable — no matter how powerful,” former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, said Tuesday.
Mr. Trump and congressional Republicans moved to quell intense anger within their party about the Epstein files.
The MAGA base is convinced that a client list exists and includes the names of influential and wealthy men who should face punishment for further victimizing the girls trafficked by Epstein.
MAGA members are furious that Mr. Trump appears to be backing away from a promise to make all the files public.
“No one believes there is not a client list,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican, posted on X.
Several Republicans, among them Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, support legislation to force the release of the documents.
The Trump administration responded to the president’s angry base by asking a federal judge to unseal thousands of documents and material related to the FBI investigation and the grand jury probe into Epstein and his girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, who helped procure girls for him.
Maxwell was convicted in federal court in 2021 on sex trafficking charges related to Epstein’s operation and is serving a 20-year sentence at a minimum security prison in Tallahassee, Florida.
Amid pressure from Mr. Trump’s base and Democrats who are accusing Mr. Trump of hiding evidence to protect himself, the Justice Department on Tuesday announced plans to interview Maxwell about Epstein’s clients.
“I anticipate meeting with Ms. Maxwell in the coming days,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said. “Until now, no administration on behalf of the Department had inquired about her willingness to meet with the government. That changes now.”
Shortly after Ms. Bondi’s announcement, a House panel voted to subpoena Maxwell to find out what she knows about the powerful men who associated with Epstein and his stable of underage girls.
“The committee will seek to subpoena Ms. Maxwell as expeditiously as possible,” said an aide, adding that the panel will work with the Justice Department and Bureau of Prisons to “identify a date when the committee can depose her.”
Epstein’s death was ruled a suicide, but many believe he was killed to prevent him from testifying about the men whom he supplied underage girls. Epstein served as a financial adviser for a long list of wealthy clients.
Thousands of pages of documents connected to a 2015 lawsuit have been made public. The lawsuit named dozens of influential men who the victims say were Epstein associates.
The list included former President Bill Clinton, the late New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Britain’s Prince Andrew and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
All those named denied wrongdoing.
Mr. Trump flew on Epstein’s private jet several times in the 1990s and was joined on some of the trips by his then-wife, Marla Maples, and their daughter, Tiffany.
Mr. Trump once referred to Epstein as a friend and a “great guy,” but the two had a falling-out over a real estate deal in 2004 and haven’t spoken in years.
Mr. Trump said he never traveled to Epstein’s private island, where much of the debauchery allegedly took place.
A federal court denied Maxwell’s appeal to overturn her conviction, but she appealed to the Supreme Court.
Maxwell’s attorney, David Oscar Markus, told The Washington Times that he had received the Justice Department’s interview request.
“I can confirm that we are in discussions with the government and that Ghislaine will always testify truthfully. We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case,” he said.
Ms. Greene said the Trump administration has to fully follow through on promises to hold Epstein’s powerful clients accountable because the MAGA base will accept nothing less.
“Dangling bits of red meat no longer satisfy,” she said. “They want the whole steak dinner and will accept nothing else.”
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.