Republicans in Congress break with Trump on his handling of the Epstein files

By Scott Wong and Sahil Kapur

Conservative Republicans in Congress are breaking with President Donald Trump’s handling of the case of the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the latest development in a rare MAGA revolt against the administration.

After the Justice Department and the FBI said they would not release any further information related to the case and Trump sought to downplay it, his allies on Capitol Hill called for the government to release the Epstein files, which has consumed right-wing circles for years.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told conservative commentator Benny Johnson said he supported the release of the files related to the case, one of the few instances in which he has put distance between himself and Trump.

“I’m for transparency,” Johnson said. “It’s a very delicate subject but we should put everything out there and let the people decide.”

Johnson also said that Attorney General Pam Bondi “needs to come forward and explain” her past comments that she had a “client list” related to Epstein sitting on her desk. Bondi later clarified that she had was referring to the Epstein case file, not his client list.

“I like Pam. … I think she’s done a good job. We need the DOJ, focusing on the major priorities,” Johnson said. “So I’m anxious to get this behind us.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a far-right Georgia Republican and staunch Trump ally, said she was interested in a private viewing of the Epstein files at the Justice Department and wants all of them eventually released to the public.

“I’d like to see all the information come out,” said Greene, a member of the House Oversight Committee.

Johnson and Greene, who also appeared on Benny Johnson’s show Tuesday, both said they supported having Ghislaine Maxwell, the former Epstein associate, testify before Congress.

Another conservative, Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., also said he wants to see more disclosure from the government and focused his comments on Pam Bondi, who has come under fire after the Justice Department and the FBI released a two-page memo stating they found no evidence Epstein had kept an “incriminating ‘client list’” or evidence that would lead to the prosecution of third parties.

“If the attorney general has knowledge of people who committed sex crimes with the minors, she should be prosecuting them,” DesJarlais told NBC News.

Meanwhile, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., said Tuesday if the Trump administration doesn’t release the Epstein files, a special counsel should be appointed to investigate.

“Moving forward, we need a special counsel. That has got to happen. There has to be a special investigation into this if we aren’t going to be provided information, ” Boebert said, also appearing with Benny Johnson.

“I want answers, and maybe that takes that special counsel to do. So maybe Matt Gaetz can lead the special counsel,” Boebert added, referring to the former Florida congressman.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said Americans expect more accountability from Trump given Epstein’s heinous crimes and that others were involved.

“I think it’s perfectly understandable that the American people would like to know who he trafficked those women to and why they weren’t prosecuted,” Kennedy said.

“I think the Justice Department is going to have to go back to the drawing board in answering those questions.”

But other top Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., are deferring to Trump on the issue without criticizing him.

“It’s the president’s decision,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said.

Asked if he has concerns about how Trump’s team has handled the Epstein files, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, replied: “I trust the president. I trust his team.”

Pressed Tuesday about his administration’s handling of the Epstein case, Trump defended Bondi, saying she has “done a very good job” and that he trusted her decision.

“She’s handled it very well, and it’s going to be up to her,” Trump told reporters. “Whatever she thinks is credible, she should release.”

Late Tuesday, Trump tried to downplay the situation.

“I don’t understand why the Jeffrey Epstein case would be of interest to anybody,” he said.

Epstein, a wealthy financier, died by suicide in his New York City jail cell in 2019 as he awaited trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Last month, amid fallout between Trump and billionaire Elon Musk over the GOP’s massive domestic policy bill, Musk wrote on his social media platform X that Trump, without any evidence, “is in the Epstein files” and “That is the real reason they have not been made public.”

Musk later deleted the post. And while Trump and Epstein knew each other, Trump has never been implicated in Epstein’s abuse of underage girls. The president also has denied any wrongdoing, saying in a post last year, “I was never on Epstein’s Plane, or at his ‘stupid’ Island.” There has never been any evidence connecting Trump to Epstein’s criminal behavior.

Democrats have seized on the rare split in the Republican Party, echoing criticism on the right of Trump and his team’s handling of the Epstein episode.

“In February of this year, Attorney General Pam Bondi acknowledged the existence of Jeffrey Epstein’s client list. In fact, she said that Jeffrey Epstein’s client list is ‘sitting on my desk right now,’” Rep. Ted Lieu of California, a member of the Democratic leadership team, said at a news conference Tuesday morning.

“Where is that client list? What is Attorney General Pam Bondi, hiding?” Lieu said. “She needs to release the Epstein files as soon as possible.”

On Monday night, Democrats offered an amendment in the House Rules Committee to require a floor vote on releasing the Epstein files. Republicans, who control the panel, voted it down 7-5.

Notably, Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, voted for the Democratic amendment. And another HFC member, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, didn’t vote.