Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said Thursday that the expected release of Justice Department files related to Jeffrey Epstein will likely include names from both political parties but argued that the disclosures should not be viewed through a partisan lens.
When asked on CNN whether Democrats could appear in the Epstein documents, Murphy replied, "So what?"
Murphy said Democrats, Republicans, and business leaders could all appear in the documents and noted that the central issue is identifying anyone who may have been involved with Epstein's crimes, not the political fallout.
"Yeah, I'm sure there are Democrats in those files, there are Republicans in those files, there are Wall Street executives who have no political affiliation," Murphy added. "What we want is to understand who was involved in this."
Murphy sharply criticized President Donald Trump, who signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act on Wednesday.
"I just think it stands to reason that he's very much connected to this scandal," Murphy continued.
"And we may or may not know the extent of that, because it could be that the president is going to try to find a way to redact any information connected to him from those files" once the documents are submitted for review.
"To me, it just does not matter the political affiliation," he said. "The law is the law.
"They need to release the files."
Trump has denied any wrongdoing connected to Epstein. His name appeared in emails released earlier by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
Last week, Murphy accused the president of being in "daily panic mode" over the possibility of additional mentions in the files and said any confirmed connection between Trump and Epstein would constitute "the biggest scandal in presidential history."
Trump has attempted to shift scrutiny toward Democrats, writing on Truth Social that Epstein had ties to prominent Democrat figures and previously donated to Democrat politicians.
He argued that the controversy would ultimately damage Democrats.
Attorney General Pam Bondi has 30 days to release the full set of records. The law permits limited redactions to protect victims and to avoid jeopardizing active federal investigations or prosecutions.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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