Why haven't Epstein files been released? Most Americans agree on answer, poll finds

Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald on Jul 24, 2025

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Why has the government withheld the full release of the Jeffrey Epstein files? Most Americans suspect it’s because a high-profile figure appears in them, according to new polling.

In the latest YouGov poll, 53% of respondents said they believe certain documents related to Epstein remain sealed because President Donald Trump is named in them. In contrast, 21% think this is not the reason, and 25% said they weren’t sure.

Most Democrats and independents — 84% and 53% — think the files haven’t been released because Trump is involved, while just 20% of Republicans think the same.

The survey comes as controversy surrounding Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in a New York jail in 2019, continues to dog the Trump administration.

It began in early July, when the Department of Justice released a memo concluding that no Epstein “client list” existed, and that there was not sufficient evidence to charge third parties.

As a result, most Americans concluded that a cover-up had taken place, according to a previous YouGov poll.

Since then, new details have emerged about the president’s relationship with Epstein, who once called Trump his “closest friend” and was photographed at events with him in the 1990s and early 2000s.

On July 17, The Wall Street Journal alleged that Trump had penned a “bawdy” birthday letter to Epstein in 2003. And, on July 23, the outlet reported that DOJ officials told the president he was named in the Epstein files, though they noted “being mentioned in the records isn’t a sign of wrongdoing.”

In response, Trump and White House officials labeled both stories as “fake,” and Trump has sued the newspaper’s publisher for defamation. He’s also said he is being subject to “a witch hunt.”

However, most Americans are skeptical of the president’s denouncements.

In the latest poll — which surveyed 4,833 U.S. adults on July 24 — 61% of respondents said they believe Trump’s name appears in the Epstein files. Just 12% said they don’t believe this, and 28% said they weren’t sure.

On this question, another partisan divide emerged. Most Democrats and independents — 86% and 60% — said they think the president’s name is included in the Epstein files, while just 34% of Republicans said the same.

But, while most Americans believe Trump is listed in the files, less than half, 45%, believe he was “involved in crimes allegedly committed by Jeffrey Epstein.”

A smaller share, 28%, said they think he was not involved in criminal activity, and 27% said they were not sure, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of 1.7 percentage points.

The overwhelming majority of Democrats, 77%, believe the president was implicated in crimes purportedly committed by Epstein, while 63% of Republicans said he was not. Independents were more split, with 45% saying he was involved, and 21% saying he was not.

The poll was released the same day that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche was meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell, a longtime Epstein associate, who was convicted on sex trafficking charges and is serving a 20-year prison sentence in Florida.

“If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,” Blanche said in a statement.

The meeting comes after Trump instructed the Department of Justice to release grand jury testimony related to Epstein, though he noted, “nothing will be good enough for the troublemakers and radical left lunatics making the request.”