Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., told Newsmax on Wednesday that President Donald Trump was among the people who recognized that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein "was a bad guy" and was willing to help law enforcement in the past.
When asked about newly surfaced reporting that Trump had warned Florida law enforcement about Epstein years ago, Tiffany said on "Finnerty" that "President Trump clearly has warned [people] about Jeffrey Epstein."
He added that "we've seen this story repeatedly" that Trump "was actually one of the people that knew that Jeffrey Epstein was a bad guy."
Trump was "willing to help law enforcement," Tiffany said.
Reporting in recent days has described a newly public FBI account of a former Palm Beach police chief recalling a call from Trump during the mid-2000s Epstein investigation.
Reuters reported that the FBI document says the former police chief recalled Trump telling him, "everyone" knew about Epstein, in a call dated to 2006.
ABC News also reported Tuesday that the FBI account of a 2019 interview with the former chief included Trump saying, "thank goodness you're stopping him," and that "everyone has known he's been doing this."
He then framed the Epstein matter as an effort by Democrats to divert attention from Republican successes.
Asked about Attorney General Pam Bondi’s testimony, Tiffany said, "I thought Attorney General [Pam] Bondi really hit the nail on the head."
He quoted Bondi as saying, "'You guys just don't want to talk about interest rates coming down, inflation coming down, the economy getting stronger.'"
Bondi testified Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee on Justice Department oversight and handling of Epstein-related materials.
Bondi faced sharp questioning from Democrats in that hearing over matters including released file redactions and the release of Epstein-related files.
Late last month, the Department of Justice released what it described as the final batch of over 3 million documents, bringing renewed focus to wealthy and influential figures who continued their association with Epstein even after his conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Democrats "don't want to talk about how 2026 is going to be a great year for the economy and the United States of America," Tiffany said. "They will change the subject in any way that they can for electoral gain."
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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