BITTER REPUBLICAN SPLIT OVER RELEASE
The scandal has long been a political vulnerability for Trump, who socialised with Epstein in the 1990s and 2000s before what he describes as a personal rift. Many of Trump’s supporters believe the administration has hidden details of Epstein’s ties to powerful figures and obscured the circumstances of his 2019 death in a Manhattan jail, ruled a suicide.
The president remains visibly irritated by questions about the matter. On Tuesday, he snapped at a reporter in the Oval Office, calling the journalist a “terrible person” and saying the network she worked for should have its licence revoked.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Monday found only 44 per cent of Republicans approved of Trump’s handling of the Epstein issue, far below the 82 per cent who approve of his overall performance in office.
“Please stop making this political, it is not about you, President Trump,” said Jena-Lisa Jones, who said she was abused by Epstein at age 14. “I voted for you, but your behaviour on this issue has been a national embarrassment.”
Representative Thomas Massie, the Kentucky Republican who led the push for disclosure, said “it’s time to pull the Band-Aid off”, joining the survivors outside the Capitol.
