Pressure is mounting in Washington as survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse, lawmakers from both parties, and the public demand greater transparency into the late financier’s shadowy network. The controversy reached a fever pitch this past week, with new claims about President Donald Trump’s role, a bipartisan push for disclosure, and the release of tens of thousands of pages of documents—though, to many, the truth remains frustratingly out of reach.
On September 5, 2025, House Speaker Mike Johnson ignited headlines by asserting that President Trump had been an FBI informant for decades, including during the period when Epstein frequented Trump’s Mar-A-Lago club. Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Johnson insisted, “He’s [Trump] not saying that what Epstein did is a hoax, it’s a terrible, unspeakable evil, he believes that himself. When he first heard the rumour, he kicked him out of Mar-A-Lago. He was an FBI informant trying to take this down. The president knows and has great sympathy for the women who have suffered these unspeakable harms. It’s detestable to him; he and I have spoken about this, as recently as 24 hours ago.” According to CNN, the White House has yet to respond to Johnson’s claims.
Despite Johnson’s efforts to clarify, Trump himself has dismissed the bipartisan demand for full disclosure of Epstein’s federal case files, calling it a “Democrat hoax.” As reported by CNN, Trump told reporters, “It’s really a Democrat hoax, because they’re trying to get people to talk about something that’s totally irrelevant to the success that we have had as a nation since I have been president.”
The call for transparency is not limited to one political party. On September 6, 2025, over 100 survivors of Epstein’s abuse demanded the government release all files related to the case. Ten survivors spoke out for the first time at a press conference in Washington, D.C., organized by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna, and MAGA lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene. Survivors made it clear this was about human rights, not partisanship. Lisa Phillips, one of the survivors, told Times Now, “Trump was never on our list of someone that we’d seen around or was involved in anything.” Asked about the political battle, Phillips added, “I mean, we were standing with quite a few Republicans, and it was for us, it had nothing to do with this party or that party. We were concerned of it just being a human rights issue. So, I’m not quite sure, you know, what he was thinking about that.”
Another survivor, Rina Oh, gave a harrowing account of her time in Florida with Epstein, describing how she was “shown around like a piece of merchandise by Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein.” She recounted, “I was taken out... and he had a photo of me on his desk... in Palm Beach, Florida... so this was my experience in Florida. They held me in the house. I didn’t even realise that it wasn’t a vacation, that I was there for a different reason other than taking a week’s vacation with a friend. They never really took us out. We didn’t have money. There was another girl with me there. We weren’t taken to the beach. This was Palm Beach but we never saw the beach. I do not recall having access to telephones, I didn’t get to call my family to let them know where I was. They escorted us... either... I think it was Jeffrey driving us around... and the only time we were out was when he showed us to other men.”
Despite the survivors’ testimonies and mounting public interest, the path to full disclosure remains tangled in political maneuvering. On Capitol Hill, the House Oversight Committee has launched an investigation, with Johnson promising it will “uncover things that have never been uncovered before.” Yet, as CNN noted, critics are skeptical, suggesting the probe may reveal little beyond what’s already public.
Meanwhile, a bipartisan legislative effort is underway. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie and Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna are leading a bill to compel the Justice Department to release the entirety of the Epstein file. Massie is pushing for a floor vote using a discharge petition—a procedural move that requires 218 signatures to force consideration. “We have 214 signatures on the discharge petition to force a vote on a bill to release the Epstein files. I’m 99% certain we’ll get 218. At that point @SpeakerJohnson may try to change the rules of the House, but chair of Rules Committee says she won’t!” Massie wrote on X.
So far, only four Republicans—Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, and Nancy Mace—have signed on, according to CNN. The White House and Johnson have reportedly warned Republicans that supporting Massie’s petition would be seen as a “very hostile act to the administration.”
Survivors, frustrated by the lack of progress, have warned they may compile and release their own list of alleged abusers from Epstein’s network if the government fails to act. “It will be done by survivors and for survivors,” Lisa Phillips said, according to US media reports. However, the legal risks are steep. Massie cautioned that survivors could be “sued into homelessness” for naming names, a sentiment echoed by other lawmakers. In an X post, Massie added, “Survivors at our press conference announced they are privately compiling their own Epstein list. They would be sued into homelessness for naming names, but @RepMTG and I are willing to name names in the House of Representatives under Constitutional ‘speech or debate’ immunity.”
The legislative and political drama unfolded just days after a US congressional panel released 33,295 pages of documents related to Epstein’s federal investigation on September 2, 2025. The trove includes flight logs, emails, court filings, and surveillance footage, some dating back two decades to the original Palm Beach police probe. Yet, despite the sheer volume of material, both Republicans and Democrats agree that the files offer few new revelations. Questions linger over whether the Justice Department is still withholding key records—especially any alleged Epstein client list. In July, the Department of Justice stated that no “incriminating” client list exists, but that has done little to quiet calls for more transparency.
Trump’s own supporters have joined the chorus demanding openness, even as Trump continues to rail against what he calls partisan attacks. In a Truth Social post, Trump lambasted Democrats, saying, “The confused and badly failing Democrat Party did nothing about Jeffrey Epstein while he was alive except befriend him, socialize with him, travel to his Island, and take his money! They knew everything there was to know about Epstein, but now, years after his death, they, out of nowhere, are seeming to show such love and heartfelt concern for his victims.”
As the debate rages on, the survivors’ stories remain at the center. Their push for justice and transparency has forced Congress and the public to confront uncomfortable questions about accountability, power, and the limits of institutional transparency. Whether the coming weeks will bring the answers they seek—or simply more political theater—remains to be seen.
