House Democrats send letter to Fox News demanding answers on edits to Trump's 2024 Epstein comments
The letter from the ranking Democratic member on the House Oversight Committee, obtained first by CNN, accuses Fox of omitting key qualifiers in Trump's response to a question about whether he would release Epstein-related documents. The letter requests Fox's internal records about the interview and any communications with then-candidate Trump's campaign about it — a request that Fox will surely refuse.
In the televised version of a 'Fox & Friends Weekend' interview, Trump appeared to unequivocally support releasing the files. But in the unedited version — aired the next day on Fox's radio platform and 'Fox and Friends' — he hedged, expressing concern about 'phony stuff' and the potential to 'affect people's lives.'
The edit attracted some attention at the time, but has gained more scrutiny in recent days, as Trump parries criticism from his own supporters over the administration's attempts to shut down further disclosures about Epstein's crimes.
The letter, from Ranking Oversight Member Robert Garcia, calls on Murdoch and Scott to explain the decision-making behind the edit and whether political considerations influenced how the interview was presented.
'Considering President Trump's well-documented past social ties with Jeffrey Epstein, Fox News's selective omission raises serious concerns that the network may have deliberately sought to shield then-candidate Trump from any further association with Epstein,' the letter states, adding, 'it is legitimate to ask whether President Trump himself or those close to him may have actively encouraged' the edit.
In a statement to CNN before the letter was made public, a Fox News spokesperson denied that any 'selective editing' took place. The TV segment in question 'had standard editorial cuts for time and the full answer to the question aired on the following day's show,' the network said.
In the interview, co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy asked whether Trump would declassify '9/11 files' and 'JFK files.' He said yes without hesitation. Then she asked, 'Would you declassify the Epstein files?'
His answer, as it initially aired: 'Yeah, yeah, I would.'
But in the full version that only aired later, Trump said, 'Yeah, yeah, I would. I guess I would. I think that less so because, you don't know, you don't want to affect people's lives if it's phony stuff in there, because it's a lot of phony stuff with that whole world. But I think I would, or at least—'
Campos-Duffy interjected and said, 'Do you think that would restore trust? Help restore trust?'
Trump hedged again: 'I don't know about Epstein, so much as I do the others. Certainly, about the way he died. It'd be interesting to find out what happened there, because that was a weird situation and the cameras didn't happen to be working, etc., etc. But yeah, I'd go a long way toward that one. The other stuff, I would.'
Critics said the edited version that originally aired was egregious because it stripped away Trump's uncertainty, presenting his stance in a more definitive — and politically favorable — light.
Trump took a keen interest in TV news editing last year when '60 Minutes' interviewed his then-rival Kamala Harris and aired two different parts of a controversial Harris answer on two different days.
Trump ultimately alleged 'election interference' and sued CBS, resulting in a $16 million settlement with the network's parent company Paramount, much to the chagrin of '60 Minutes' employees. The FCC, chaired by Trump ally Brendan Carr, currently has an open probe into CBS stemming from that edit.
Earlier this week, in a letter to Carr, Democratic senators Chuck Schumer and Ed Markey called out the Fox edit about Epstein.
'This selective editing appears to be far more misleading than the run-of-the-mill editorial decision-making in CBS's interview with Harris,' the senators said.
Rather than arguing for an equivalent probe of Fox, the senators said, 'the FCC should stop its partisan investigations into the news media and cease interfering with independent journalism altogether.'
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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., answers reporters about calls to release documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, July 21, 2025. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., answers reporters about calls to release documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, July 21, 2025. J. Scott Applewhite/AP "We'll see you in September," said Rules Committee Ranking Member Jim McGovern, who was leading the push to bring the Epstein vote forward. McGovern was backing a bipartisan resolution introduced by Representatives Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna. Massie and Khanna have vowed to bypass leadership altogether by using a discharge petition to force a vote—if they can get 218 members to sign on. If all Democrats and the resolution's current Republican cosponsors do so, they could corner House GOP leaders. Massie, speaking to reporters with a binder labeled "The Epstein Files: Phase 2" in hand, criticized leadership's proposed response. "Their Epstein bill resolution is non-binding so it's kind of fake," he said. "The resolution I have with Khanna would be binding on the President." Last week, Republican Rules members had teed up a symbolic resolution urging the release of Epstein-related files after public backlash over their earlier rejection of a Democratic amendment. But Speaker Mike Johnson has since refused to bring even that watered-down version to the floor. Scalise confirmed that decision Monday, Politico reported: "The Trump administration's petitioned the courts to release some of the sealed documents. Hopefully, the court acts swiftly. It'd be important if they got that out." Republicans on the panel accused Democrats of political theater. "Democrats keep putting all these amendments up. They want to make Epstein — and, you know, we're all for transparency, and we're going to do that, but what they want to do is grandstand," Representative Ralph Norman told reporters. "They said they'll be there all night, we'll be there all night." Norman added that Republicans refused to give the minority "an endless microphone." McGovern pushed back in a statement: "Democrats on the Rules Committee gave Republicans a choice — either vote to release the Epstein Files, or keep them a secret. Republicans are so afraid of taking that vote that they are torching their own agenda instead of doing something they promised the voters they would do," he said. "Trump and his top allies have been pushing this for years — and people aren't going to forget about it in a month." Speaker Johnson defended the leadership's approach, insisting the House and White House were aligned: "Here's what I would say about the Epstein files: There is no daylight between the House Republicans, the House, and the president on maximum transparency," Johnson said Monday. "He has said that he wants all the credible files related to Epstein to be released. He's asked the attorney general to request the grand jury files of the court. All of that is in process right now." "My belief is we need the administration to have the space to do what it is doing, and if further congressional action is necessary or appropriate, then we'll look at that," he added. "But I don't think we're at that point right now because we agree with the president." Later that night, Johnson reiterated the House would not vote on the legislation this week: "There was nothing else that was time-sensitive this week that we needed to handle by way of a rule," he said. "So the work of the House will continue all week, we'll be here doing our work, and we won't allow [Democrats] a platform to try and engage in political games." The floor shutdown follows a Justice Department memo released last week confirming that Epstein died by suicide in 2019 and that the government does not possess a "client list." The findings directly contradicted years of conspiracy theories pushed by some Trump allies and figures in the MAGA movement who have insisted Epstein was murdered. The backlash reportedly infuriated President Trump, who called his supporters "weaklings" who were "duped" by the Epstein "hoax"—a narrative he claimed, falsely, had been pushed by Democrats. He later walked back the statement, saying he supports the release of "credible" documents but urged his base to move on. Last week, Trump instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to begin the process of unsealing grand jury materials in the Epstein case. What People Are Saying Democratic strategist Sawyer Hackett wrote on X: "Incredible. House Republicans have shut down the Rules Committee, effectively canceling House votes this week—to avoid Dem amendments to release the Epstein files. "It looks like Republicans in Congress are co-signing on a massive Trump cover-up." Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X: "Ummm so let me get this straight: Republicans have ground Congress to a halt and are considering adjourning the entire House for 6 weeks to avoid releasing the info they have on Epstein? What is going on here?" Republican Representative Thomas Massie wrote on X: "Why not vote on the binding Massie-Khanna Epstein legislation this week @SpeakerJohnson? We should not punt this until after the 5 week recess, nor should we wait for my discharge petition to ripen and collect the required signatures to force the vote." What Happens Next No vote is expected to take place until at least after the House returns from August recess in September — by which time many Republicans hope the Epstein furor will have died down.
