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In recent days, as the United States House of Representatives approached a potential vote about releasing the Epstein files, President Donald Trump pivoted on the hot-button topic.<\/p>\n
Trump and members of his\u00a0administration\u00a0had sought to undermine efforts to release the files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. And Trump has been dismissive of the push to make the files public, calling the case \u201cpretty boring stuff\u201d in July and repeatedly referring to it as a Democratic \u201choax.\u201d<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n Then, on November 16, he told\u00a0House Republicans to vote in favour of the release.<\/p>\n His shift came after lawmakers cleared a significant hurdle on November 12, netting 218 signatures on a petition to force a vote on a bill to release the files within 30 days. The House is expected to vote on that bill this week. Previously, it was considered unlikely the legislation would pass in the Senate; it remains to be seen whether Trump\u2019s latest statement will cause senators to reconsider.<\/p>\n Epstein moved in the same social circles as\u00a0Trump\u00a0in the 1990s, including attending parties at Mar-a-Lago, Trump\u2019s private Palm Beach, Florida, club. The two were photographed together in social settings multiple times. They later had a\u00a0falling out, a rift that some reporters dated to late 2007.<\/p>\n Palm Beach County prosecutors investigated Epstein after reports that a 14-year-old girl was molested at his mansion. In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges related to soliciting prostitution from someone under 18. He received preferential treatment during the criminal investigation and served about a year in jail, largely on work release.<\/p>\n In 2018, The Miami Herald published an extensive investigation into the case, and the next year, Epstein was arrested on federal charges for recruiting dozens of underage girls to his New York City mansion and Palm Beach estate from 2002 to 2005 to engage in sex acts for money. He was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell on August 10, 2019, and investigators concluded he died by suicide.<\/p>\n We asked the White House why Trump changed his stance on releasing the files. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement, \u201cPresident Trump has been consistently calling for transparency related to the Epstein files for years \u2013 by releasing tens of thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee\u2019s subpoena request\u201d and calling for investigations into \u201cEpstein\u2019s Democrat friends\u201d.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what Trump has said in 2024 and 2025 about releasing the Epstein files.<\/p>\n In June 2024, Fox and Friends co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy asked Trump if he would declassify various files, including those related to 9\/11 and former President John F Kennedy.<\/p>\n \u201cWould you declassify the Epstein files?\u201d Campos-Duffy said.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, yeah, I would,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n The clip spread on social media, and Trump\u2019s campaign account\u00a0also shared it.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udea8 President Trump says he will DECLASSIFY the 9\/11 Files, JFK Files, and Epstein Files pic.twitter.com\/JalLWFkRDZ<\/a><\/p>\nRecommended Stories <\/h2>\n
While campaigning in 2024, Trump said he would release the files<\/h2>\n
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