Trump faces prospect of congressional vote on releasing Epstein files | Donald Trump
Donald Trump faces the prospect of a politically damaging congressional vote on the release of the Jeffery Epstein files after unsuccessful attempts to pressure two female members of Congress to withdraw their support.
The news that Republican representatives Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Nancy Macy of South Carolina have refused to remove their names from the discharge petition to force the vote leaves Trump facing an issue that could potentially turn parts of Maga’s base against him.
Boebert was reportedly determined to support the petition after being invited by Trump to the White House in an attempt to persuade her to withdraw her signature. According to the New York Times.
Media reported that the meeting took place just hours after Democrats on the House oversight committee released a series of emails from the files that suggested Trump may have known more about Epstein’s underage sex-trafficking activities than he had previously admitted.
The disgraced financier, who committed suicide in prison while awaiting trial in 2019, wrote in an email that his former close friend Trump “knew about the girls.”
The New York Times reported that the White House tried to persuade Boebert to change her mind — enlisting attorney general Pam Bondi and FBI director Kash Patel — before issuing “vague threats” when the tactic didn’t work.
Citing people “familiar with her thinking,” the newspaper reported that the hard-line approach had the counterproductive effect of convincing Boebert that there might be a conspiracy to conceal the contents of the files and causing her to look into the matter.
It was reported that Trump tried to reach Mace, who was running for governor of South Carolina, by phone but was unsuccessful. She later wrote him a letter describing his history of sexual abuse and rape and explaining that he could not change his mind about the petition.
“The Epstein petition is deeply personal,” he later wrote in a social media post.
Two other Republican representatives signed the petition, once highly reliable Trump loyalist and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
The 218 votes needed to pass the bill and allow for a House vote were achieved this week when Democratic member Adelita Grijalva was sworn in more than two months after winning a special election following the death of her father, the incumbent representative in Arizona.
Democrats accused House speaker Mike Johnson of deliberately delaying Grijalva’s swearing-in in order to deny the petition enough votes to pass and hinder the possibility of a vote. Trump lobbied behind the scenes to prevent the vote from reaching the House.
Ro Khanna, a Democratic representative from California. to guess It was stated that in the final vote, between 40 and 50 Republicans could vote in favor of releasing the files and form an alliance with Democrats who would vote in favor. The legislation would still need to go to the Senate, where it is unlikely to pass either. Trump, who was uncertain last year about whether he would release files on his campaign trail, could have vetoed the final bill even if it passed both chambers.
But the possibility of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives voting in favor could cause serious political problems for Trump, as it could ignite clamor among Trump’s political base to seal the files and weaken support for Trump.
Politico quoted a Trump ally as saying the latest email releases took “things that were already complicated for the president” and [brought] bring them to the surface.”
“It’s like adding salt to a meal; the flavors are already there, it just accentuates them all,” the anonymous ally said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the email statements a “campaign of distraction by Democrats and the liberal media.”
“So instead of the government being reopened because of Republicans and President Trump, I’m being asked about Epstein,” he said.
Renewed speculation about Epstein coincided with Trump signing into law a congressionally approved spending package that officially ended a 43-day federal government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history. This also comes after the high court signaled it may strike down the signature tariffs policy.
