President Donald Trump on Friday said he supports releasing Jeffrey Epstein-related files but warned that some individuals named in them may be unfairly implicated.
"There are a lot of innocent people in those files who don't deserve to be mentioned just because Epstein knew everybody in Palm Beach," Trump said at a White House press conference, which aired on Newsmax Friday afternoon. "But I've told Pam [Bondi] and everybody else, give them everything you can give them. I couldn't care less. I'm in support of keeping it totally open."
The Justice Department was to send some of the disgraced financier and sex offender's files to the House Oversight Committee on Friday.
Meanwhile, Trump described the broader focus on Epstein as politically motivated, calling it "a Democrat hoax" intended to distract from his record in office.
Trump also pointed to former President Bill Clinton's reported association with Epstein and mentioned former Treasury Secretary and Harvard president Larry Summers.
"Nobody ever talks about that," he said. "I don't want to hurt Larry Summers, but he was best friends with Jeffrey Epstein."
The president argued that Democrats are using the issue to undermine his administration's achievements over the past seven months, which he described as "the greatest in history," citing foreign policy moves and a strong stock market. He said if Democrats Joe Biden or Kamala Harris were president, the market "would have crashed like 1929."
"The House Oversight Committee has received the Department of Justice's first production of Epstein records pursuant to Chairman James Comer's subpoena," a House Oversight Committee spokesperson said. "The production contains thousands of pages of documents. The Trump DOJ is providing records at a far quicker pace than anything the Biden DOJ ever provided. In fact, former Attorney General Garland obstructed Chairman Comer's subpoena for the audio of Special Counsel Hur's interview with President Biden to hide his cognitive decline.
"The Committee intends to make these records public after thorough review to ensure any victims' identification and child sexual abuse material are redacted. The Committee will also consult with the DOJ to ensure any documents released do not negatively impact ongoing criminal cases and investigations."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.