How Maryland lawmakers helped Democrats take over the 'Epstein Files'

WASHINGTON — MAGA wants the Epstein files. Democrats want to help.

Delivering the full files regarding Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy and well-connected financier who died by hanging in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking minors, has become a new obsession for Democratic lawmakers. And it puts them in alignment with Trump supporters who have long called for transparency in the case, concerned a cover-up was protecting Epstein’s clients.

Since President Trump’s administration backpedaled on its promises to deliver the so-called “Epstein files,” there’s been an influx of amendments, speeches and social posts from Democrats hoping to capitalize on the rift between Trump and some of his loyal supporters.

“We recognize that there’s a genuine and understandable public interest in this case and the government’s handling of the case,” Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen told The Baltimore Sun. “Attorney General Bondi is the one who has raised questions about how the Epstein files have been handled. So now we’re simply calling upon her and Trump to release the files.”

Trump and administration officials have denied, downplayed and dubbed a “hoax” the possibility of new information becoming available that would shed light on Epstein’s actions and whether anyone else was potentially involved.

The Justice Department released a memo earlier this month that effectively shut down the possibility of further activity. The memo said the department had conducted an exhaustive review and found that no client list existed. The department indicated that no further information would be released on Epstein.

‘Talked about for years’

During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on July 10th, Van Hollen introduced an amendment that would require Attorney General Pam Bondi to “retain, preserve, and compile” records and evidence related to Epstein’s investigation — including, if they exist, the much-discussed client list and any connections Epstein had with government officials.

The measure was adopted unanimously by the committee.

Van Hollen acknowledged the timing was politically fortuitous. Two days before the hearing, after a reporter mentioned Epstein to Trump, the president said, “Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy’s been talked about for years.”

“You’re asking — we have Texas, we have this, we have all of the things, and are people still talking about this guy? This creep?” Trump added. “That is unbelievable.”

The comments deepened the divide between Trump’s priorities and his supporters on this issue.

“The amendment did hit at the moment where the public was really demanding transparency,” Van Hollen said. “There was a moment where I thought we could get everyone on record.”

‘See what sticks’

Democratic senators are now all over Epstein. Van Hollen and Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, sent a letter to Bondi on Thursday calling for the files’ release. A cadre of others made a series of floor speeches and statements demanding the administration be more transparent about what’s in the files and if Trump has ties to them.

“The White House is failing to explain to the president’s supporters why they’ve done a 180 on this issue,” Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat, said. “Their explanations don’t add up — especially after the attorney general and all these Trump officials were promising this massive revelation.”

Many of their Republican colleagues said they prefer to focus on other things.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, told The Hill last week that Bondi has done enough to provide transparency on what government investigators know about Epstein and his illicit activities. And Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota said he would leave the matter “up to DOJ and to the FBI. I think that’s in their purview.”

In the House, Democrats have tried to force Republicans on the defensive with multiple measures. They’ve pushed amendments and have collected signatures on separate pieces of legislation that would have the Justice Department release all files they have pertaining to Epstein. Montgomery County Rep. Jamie Raskin, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, meanwhile called for Bondi, Patel and Bongino to testify at a public hearing.

“They’re throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks,” Rep. Rick Allen, a Georgia Republican, said of the efforts.

‘A political stunt’

A committee meeting on Thursday summed up the frustration from Republicans that the files’ release, long a conservative talking point, has been co-opted by their liberal colleagues. After Rep. Jim McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat, suggested that Republicans who voted against an Epstein-related amendment didn’t want the files to be released, he and Rep. Austin Scott, a Georgia Republican, started yelling at each other.

Scott said the amendment had been a political stunt introduced at the last minute.

“I look forward to an honest — not a political — debate on the issue of the Epstein files,” Scott said during the exchange.

Some longtime Epstein hawks have found themselves more in step with the opposing party than their own president, joining a measure co-led by Reps. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, and Trump antagonist Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, to force the Justice Department’s hand.

Epstein died six years ago. But his alleged crimes have remained a fixation of many on the right who wonder who else was involved. Epstein’s powerful social circle was well-documented, marked by some of the world’s most powerful people — Prince Andrew, and Bill and Hillary Clinton among them.

Trump reportedly had been friends with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s but had a falling out prior to Epstein’s first arrest in the mid-2000s, when Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution. There has been no public evidence to connect the president to any of Epstein’s crimes.

Trump’s campaign promises to dismantle the “deep state” carried the expectation that his administration would release a list of Epstein’s co-conspirators. No such list has ever been confirmed, however, and many Republicans do not believe it exists. But for those who do, a Trump presidency was their hope for it to finally be revealed.

But Trump distanced himself from those supporters in recent days, posting on Truth Social that he didn’t want the support of anyone still talking about Epstein. That post came days after the Justice Department memo was released.

Trump has since directed Bondi to release grand jury documents from a previous investigation into Epstein. The decision came amid threats from Trump to sue the Wall Street Journal for publishing a story last week on a previously unreported letter, allegedly from Trump to Epstein. Trump has denied the letter came from him.

“I don’t know what’s in these files, but I believe they should be public,” Rep. Johnny Olszewski, a Baltimore County Democrat, told The Sun in a statement. “After doubling and tripling down on this issue for years, some of my Republican colleagues are now running from it. That begs the obvious question of: Why?”

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