Published: 01:29 AM, 23 November 2025
Reversal has slim likelihoods to save US President from Epstein scandal
US President Donald Trump a couple of days ago sought to bring a swift end to perhaps the most damaging saga of his term, signing a measure compelling the release of the Epstein files after losing a months-long, tooth-and-nail fight to prevent their disclosure. The decision represents a stunning reversal for the president aimed chiefly at quelling a brewing GOP revolt and restoring his iron grip over the party. But few believe the path will be so easy from here, reports CNN.
The measure becoming law is now set to open a fraught new stage in the push for the files tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, putting the Justice Department under fresh scrutiny and testing the White House’s ability to pivot attention away from the president’s past dealings with Epstein and toward more advantageous political ground.
At an unrelated press conference earlier Wednesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi would only say that the Justice Department would “follow the law” when asked about the Epstein files.
But already, officials face growing suspicion from Capitol Hill and their MAGA base that the administration will use a just-opened, Trump-ordered criminal investigation as an excuse to keep some of the Epstein case file under wraps.
Justice officials, meanwhile, are scrambling to balance their probe with a looming December deadline for releasing the documents after being caught off-guard by both Trump’s demand for a new investigation and his subsequent sudden support Sunday evening for making all the Epstein files public. And even as the White House tries to accelerate past the controversy to focus on next year’s midterm elections, there remains little sign that Trump’s supporters are anywhere near ready to leave it behind.
“This is a storyline that’s going to continue to dog the president into the second year of his presidency,” said Alex Conant, a longtime GOP operative. “The Epstein conspiracies have reached moon landing status. And we’ll never stop talking about it.”
The relentless intrigue surrounding the Epstein files marks the rare issue that has driven a wedge between Trump and the Republican Party he’s led for the last decade, exposing a vulnerability for the White House made all the more frustrating by the fact that it’s largely the result of a series of self-inflicted wounds.
The issue has ignited a bitter split with Marjorie Taylor Greene, a House representative of Georgia, who has increasingly styled herself as someone in touch with the real Maga base and has refused to blindly back Trump through the Epstein saga. “Releasing the Epstein files is the easiest thing in the world,” she told Politico on Friday.
