Trump says Epstein files obsession distracts from his successes

· UPI

July 16 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump on Wednesday called an obsession with the Jeffrey Epstein files a "hoax" and a "scam" by political opponents to distract from his successes.

Attorney General Pam Bondi recently said she won't fully release the Epstein files from the investigation into the former financier's alleged sexual exploitation and abuse of minors that led to his eventual arrest and apparent suicide while jailed in New York City in 2019.

Bondi's announcement raised alarm among many congressional Democrats and Republicans who want the files to be released, but Bondi says there is nothing worth noting in them.

"The radical left Democrats have hit pay dirt again," Trump said Wednesday in a Truth Social post. "These scams and hoaxes are all the Democrats are good at. It's all they have."

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He said Democrats are not good at governing, bad with policymaking and can't pick winning candidates, but they do "stick together like glue."

"Their new scam is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein hoax," Trump said.

"My past supporters have bought into this 'bull****' hook, line and sinker," he continued. "They haven't learned their lesson and probably never will, even after being conned by the lunatic left for eight long years."

The president said his administration has had more success in six months than possibly any other presidential administration in the nation's history.

Yet, "all these people want to talk about, with strong prodding from fake news and the success-starved Dems, is the Jeffrey Epstein hoax," Trump said.

"Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats' work," he added. "I don't want their support anymore!"

The apparent fallout between Trump and some of his supporters over the Epstein files could become a "major problem" during the midterm elections next year, an unnamed Republican strategist told NBC News.

"This is a major problem and could hurt turnout in the midterms," the strategist said. "It signals betrayal to those who believed the president would expose the deep state."

The strategist suggested those who believe the deep state exists also believe Epstein played a role in it and view Bondi's decision against releasing the files as the "ultimate knife in the back."

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., want to force the GOP-led House of Representatives to vote on whether or not the Justice Department should release the Epstein files, The Hill reported on Wednesday.

The House lawmakers announced five more Republicans have agreed to co-sponsor Massie and Khanna's proposed legislation.

They said Representatives Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Jeff VanDrew of New Jersey, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Eric Burleson of Missouri and Tim Burchett of Tennessee are the measure's new co-signers.

Van Drew announced his co-sponsorship on Wednesday and said "the American people deserve full transparency" in a post on X.