'There should be no deflections.' Trump warns Republicans to stay out of Epstein 'trap'
WASHINGTON ‒ President Donald Trump told Republicans in Congress to stay away from House Democrats’ push to force the full release of Jeffrey Epstein-related files after the Nov. 12 release of three emails from the disgraced financier that mentioned the president’s name.
“There should be no deflections to Epstein or anything else, and any Republicans involved should be focused only on opening up our Country, and fixing the massive damage caused by the Democrats!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social .
Trump in his post accused House Democrats of releasing the emails – one in which Epstein alleges Trump “knew about the girls” – because Democrats lost the fight over the nation's longest-ever government shutdown.
“The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they’ll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects,” Trump said. “Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap.”
More: Trump warns GOP after he's named in Epstein emails. Latest updates
Fate of Epstein push in hands of four Republicans
Four House Republicans have joined their Democratic colleagues in signing a push known as a discharge petition to force a vote on a bill demanding the Justice Department release documents tied to Epstein investigations.
The four GOP lawmakers are Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
More: Read the emails: Donald Trump discussed in Jeffrey Epstein emails
The Nov. 12 swearing-in of recently elected Democrat Adelita Grijalva of Arizona gave the discharge petition the 218th signature needed for approval – as long as the four Republicans don't remove their names.
Epstein, who died by suicide while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019, was a longtime friend of Trump's before the two had a falling out.
In a push to thwart a vote on the Epstein files, Trump on Nov. 11 connected by phone with Boebert, a loyal Trump ally, according to a report from the New York Times . And on Nov. 12, Boebert met with White House officials.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt seemed to confirm the report at a briefing with reporters. "Doesn’t that show the level of transparency, when we are willing to sit down with members of Congress and address their concerns?" the press secretary said.
Leavitt dodged questions about Epstein's claims in the emails, including one in 2011 in which Epstein said Trump "spent hours" with one of Epstein's victims. "These emails prove absolutely nothing other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong," Leavitt said.
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump warns Republicans to stay out of 'trap' over Epstein files
