Donald Trump calls for release of the Epstein files in major U-turn

It marks a sharp shift in Trump's stance

The President said the files should be released now "because we have nothing to hide".

The U-turn in his position comes after House Democrats have leaked documents concerning paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, some of which mention Trump.

One leaked email showed Epstein alleging that Trump “spent hours” with one of his victims.

An email from Epstein to Maxwell in April 2011 reads: “I want you to realize that that dog that hasn’t barked is trump.. [Victim] spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned. Police chief. etc. im 75 % there.”

Epstein was found dead in a prison cell in New York in 2019, in what the coroner ruled a suicide. He was being held on charges of sex trafficking.

Trump has always denied any links to Epstein's sex abuse or trafficking.

There has been growing unrest among Republicans, including ardent Trump supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene, for the President to call for the release of the files.

Trump branded her a 'traitor' and 'ranting lunatic' in response to her calls.

Taking to Truth Social, Trump now appears to have U-turned on his position and wants the files to be released.

He wrote: "We have nothing to hide, and it's time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party..." 

"The Department of Justice has already turned over tens of thousands of pages to the Public on 'Epstein,' are looking at various Democrat operatives (Bill Clinton, Reid Hoffman, Larry Summers, etc.) and their relationship to Epstein, and the House Oversight Committee can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON'T CARE!," he added.

The bill, known as the Epstein Files Transparency Act, would force the Justice Department to release all files on Epstein, and any information about his death.

It appears likely that the bill would pass the House, but its fate in the Senate is unclear.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, suggested that the bill would put a rest to allegations that Trump was involved with Epstein's abuse and trafficking of teenage children.

"We'll just get this done and move it on. There's nothing to hide," he told Fox News.