
Trump: Epstein grand jury records unlikely to satisfy critics
More: $10 billion lawsuit. More documents coming. Here's the latest on Trump and Epstein.
Trump previously accused the Biden administration of hiding a list of Epstein clients.
The Department of Justice teased that more files would be coming out, but then on July 7, Attorney General Pam Bondi said there was no client list and no further disclosure was needed.
That led to a wave of backlash from Trump's MAGA base.
"No one believes there is not a client list," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, a close Trump ally, posted on X July 8.
On July 18, federal prosecutors asked a federal court in Manhattan to unseal grand jury transcripts in the criminal cases against Epstein and his former associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Epstein's federal sex-trafficking case was still pending when he was found dead in a jail cell in 2019.
"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 on social media.
Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who filed legislation to release all the government's Epstein records, wrote in social media post that Trump's move indicates the pressure campaign is "working."
"But we want all the files," Massie added.
It could take time for the courts to release any records, and the grand jury documents are just a portion of the unreleased files.
"What about videos, photographs and other recordings?" Democratic Rep. Daniel Goldman, a former prosecutor, wrote on social media in response to Bondi saying she'd seek the release of grand jury testimony. "What about FBI... (witness interviews)? What about texts and emails?"
Contributing: Zac Anderson, Aysha Bagchi, Joey Garrison.

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ITV News
39 minutes ago
- ITV News
Trump tees off at his Turnberry resort as his five day private visit to Scotland begins
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Scottish Sun
40 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Donald Trump spotted with son Eric at luxury Turnberry resort during five-day Scotland visit
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Reuters
40 minutes ago
- Reuters
Trump's distraction methods fall flat against Epstein uproar
July 26 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's super powers as a public figure have long included the ability to redirect, evade and deny. But the Republican's well-worn methods of changing the subject when a tough topic stings politically are not working as his White House fends off persistent unrest from his usually loyal base about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associates. Trump has scolded reporters, claimed ignorance and offered distractions in an effort to quash questions about Epstein and the suspicions still swirling around the disgraced financier's case years after his 2019 death in prison. The demand for answers has only grown. "For a president and an administration that's very good at controlling a narrative, this is one that's been harder," said Republican strategist Erin Maguire, a former Trump campaign spokeswoman. 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They're hell bent on getting this information out." The White House has dismissed reporting about Trump's ties to Epstein as "fake news," though it has acknowledged his name appears in documents related to the Epstein case. Trump and Epstein were friends for years before falling out. "The only people who can't seem to shake this story from their one-track minds are the media and Democrats," said White House spokesman Harrison Fields. Before leaving for a trip to Scotland on Friday, the president again urged people to turn their attention elsewhere. "People should really focus on how well the country is doing," Trump told reporters, lamenting that scrutiny was not being given to others in Epstein's orbit. "They don't talk about them, they talk about me. I have nothing to do with the guy." Trump in recent weeks has employed a typical diversion playbook. He chastised a reporter for asking about Epstein in the White House Cabinet Room. He claimed in the Oval Office that he was not paying close attention to the issue. And, with help from Tulsi Gabbard, his director of national intelligence, he explosively accused Obama of treason for how he treated intelligence in 2016 about Russian interference in the U.S. election. On Thursday Trump took his distraction tour to the Federal Reserve, where he tussled with Chair Jerome Powell about construction costs and pressed for lower interest rates. That, said Republican strategist Brad Todd, was more effective than focusing on Obama in 2016, which voters had already litigated by putting Trump back in office. "The Tulsi Gabbard look backward, I think, is not the way for them to pivot," Todd said, noting that Trump's trip to the Fed highlighted the issue of economic affordability and taking on a Washington institution. "If I was him I'd go to the Fed every day until rates are cut." 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"They are always going at 100 miles an hour. Every department, every cabinet secretary, everybody is out there at full speed blanketing the area with news," Republican strategist Maguire said. Trump has weathered tougher periods before, and his conservative base, despite its frustration over the files, is largely pleased with Trump's work on immigration and the economy. In a July Reuters/Ipsos poll, 56% of Republican respondents favored the administration's immigration workplace raids, while 24% were opposed and 20% unsure. Pollster Frank Luntz noted that Trump had faced felony convictions and other criminal charges but still won re-election last year. "We've been in this very same situation several times before and he has escaped every time," Luntz said.