Overview
- House Democrats released emails in which Jeffrey Epstein wrote that President Trump "spent hours" with a victim and "knew about the girls," including messages to Ghislaine Maxwell and author Michael Wolff.
- Republicans on the Oversight Committee responded by releasing more than 20,000 pages from Epstein’s estate and accused Democrats of selectively leaking a handful of messages.
- The House secured the 218 signatures needed on a discharge petition after Rep. Adelita Grijalva was sworn in, compelling a near-term floor vote on requiring DOJ to release unclassified Epstein records.
- The White House called the disclosures politically motivated and said the emails prove no wrongdoing by Trump, while several conservative influencers dismissed the releases as a smear.
- Legal experts say the emails heighten political pressure but do not, by themselves, establish criminal liability, and any mandate to release DOJ files would still need Senate passage and the president’s signature.