Some Republican lawmakers signaled today that they would prefer the Trump administration put out more information about the Jeffrey Epstein case, as the party and President Donald Trump face persistent public pressure.
Here’s what some GOP senators said today on the matter:
Sen. Kevin Cramer, the conservative from North Dakota, suggested the White House facilitate the release of Epstein documents to avoid the appearance of impropriety, given that Trump’s name is reportedly in them. “The appearance is that if, if the same administration is blocking the information that isn’t you know implicated in it, that it can look bad … sometimes you do the right thing, even if it makes you look bad in the short run,” Cramer said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committe, called on the administration to “release all the Epstein stuff.” “I want to protect victims but be as transparent as you can with Epstein,” he said.
Sen. John Cornyn took a different tack, saying he would defer to the Justice Department on how to handle the situation. “I think there’s a file sitting on Pam Bondi’s desk, which is an investigation,” Cornyn said, when asked why he’s not directly calling for an Epstein investigation.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who introduced a non-binding resolution which would require the courts to release documents related to Epstein, defended Trump’s handling of the matter. “The president has been very transparent on this, and I’m not concerned about that at all,” Mullin told reporters, when asked if he was concerned about any possible exposure for Trump if the files were released.
Sen. Rand Paul, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, was blunt on if his committee will investigate the Epstein situation: “No,” he said.
