Journalism of Courage
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Democrats were trying to revive what he called the “Epstein hoax” to divert attention from their internal divisions during the government shutdown.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that Democrats were “using whatever power they have left” to bring up the issue again, even though the Justice Department had already released thousands of pages of related documents.
Trump said some Republican lawmakers had been “misled” by Democrats, calling them “soft” and “unwise”. He argued that the late financier Jeffrey Epstein should be seen as linked to Democrats, not to him.
“Epstein was a Democrat, and he is their problem,” Trump wrote. “Ask Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman and Larry Summers. They know all about him. Don’t waste your time with Trump.”
He ended the post by saying: “I have a Country to run.”
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to Reuters. The other people named by Trump could not immediately be reached for comment.
While nine in 10 Republicans say they approve of Trump’s performance in the White House overall, just four in 10 say they approve of his handling of the Epstein files, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in October.
Epstein, who died in jail in 2019, had long-standing connections across political and business circles. His name has re-emerged in US political debate as Congress continues to argue over the shutdown and its impact.
