‘Dems controlled files for 4 years, why didn’t they act,’ asks Trump after row over Epstein links

US President Donald Trump slammed the Democrats on Friday and questioned why they did not act on alleged evidence linking him to Jeffrey Epstein and release the files linked to the disgraced financier when they controlled the Senate and White House. The Epstein files have been dominating the headlines in recent days.

“If there was a ‘smoking gun’ on Epstein, why didn’t the Dems, who controlled the ‘files’ for four years, and had [former Attorney General Merrick] Garland and [ex-prosecutor Maureen] Comey in charge, use it,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He then added, “BECAUSE THEY HAD NOTHING!!!”

Trump’s comment came hours after he directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to release relevant grand jury testimony in Epstein’s case. The directive, which has garnered mixed reactions, follows pressure from Democrats as well as Trump’s supporters for the White House to disclose more information about its probe of the case.

“Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to court approval,” Trump wrote Thursday evening on Truth Social. “This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!”

Bondi responded on the social platform X, saying the Justice Department is “ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts.”

Bondi is expected on Friday to ask a federal judge to unseal grand jury transcripts related to the 2019 indictment of Jeffrey Epstein for sex trafficking, but it is unclear if the request will be granted because grand jury transcripts are highly protected.

The Justice Department and FBI issued a joint memo last week concluding Epstein’s 2019 death was a suicide and that he did not have a “client list”.

The president’s directive to Bondi came hours after The Wall Street Journal published a report with details of an alleged letter the president wrote to Epstein on his 50th birthday in 2003. The letter was typed inside the outline of a naked woman, ending with “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,” the Journal reported.

In response, Trump hammered the Journal, saying he would sue the news outlet and denied that he wrote the letter.

“President Trump will be suing The Wall Street Journal, NewsCorp, and Mr. Murdoch, shortly,” Trump wrote Thursday. “The Press has to learn to be truthful, and not rely on sources that probably don’t even exist.”

Who was Jeffrey Epstein?

Jeffrey Epstein was a maths teacher and powerful financier in New York City whose business grew as he courted the rich and famous with private jets and lavish parties in the 1980s.

President Trump, former president Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew were among the celebrities Epstein socialised with.

In 2005, the parents of a 14-year-old girl told police in Florida that Epstein had molested their daughter at his Palm Beach home. Since 2008, Epstein had been listed as a level three on the New York sex offenders register.

He was found dead in his cell in New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center.