Former Vice President Mike Pence and a former adviser to President Donald Trump on Wednesday joined the chorus of figures calling on the government to release the so-called “Epstein files.”
Trump 2016 campaign advisor David Urban said the president backed himself “into a corner” with his handling of the files, arguing that his actions went against the core tenets of the movement he built over the past decade, in an appearance on AC360 on CNN.
“They’ve painted themselves into a corner here,” Urban said when asked why Trump had not called the files a scam on the campaign trail. “The [MAGA] movement was built on distrust of the deep state, distrust of the government, right? ‘They’re holding things back from you. They’re protecting the rich. They’re protecting the rich and powerful. And we get in, we’re going to fix all that.’ And now those folks who are calling for the rich and powerful to be held accountable aren’t holding them accountable. And I think that’s really what’s rubbing the MAGA base the wrong way. And they are not going silently.”
Urban argued that, even if “painful,” the files should be released to reestablish confidence in the Justice Department and federal institutions.
“I understand Alan Dershowitz makes the point that many people on these lists have committed no crime, and they’re going to be painted with a broad brush, but so be it,” he said. “The American public needs to hear and see from Pam Bondi and see what’s in these files.”
Pence, largely unpopular among MAGA Republicans, chimed in on Wednesday, saying in an appearance on CBS News’s The Takeout that the Trump administration should release “all of the files regarding Jeffrey Epstein’s investigation and prosecution.”
“It’s important that we protect the names of the victims,” he continued. “They should be excluded from any disclosure, but whether or not the facts justify charges, I think that anyone who participated or was associated with this despicable man ought to be held up to public scrutiny.”
The Republican Party has been riled by rare divisions after the president’s DOJ published a memo concluding that sex trafficker Epstein did, in fact, die by suicide in 2019, and that a federal investigation did not uncover a highly anticipated “client list.” The investigation also concluded that there was no credible evidence that he ever blackmailed anyone.
The conclusion ran directly against speculation widely discussed by Trump’s base for over half a decade, stirring up outrage. Many MAGA commentators, usually undyingly loyal, have taken the unprecedented move of criticizing Trump directly. The president responded by lashing out on social media.
TRUMP STRUGGLES TO CONVINCE MAGA EPSTEIN FILES A RUSSIA-LIKE ‘HOAX’
“Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats’ work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore!” Trump wrote.
“It was a hoax,” Trump later said in the Oval Office. “It’s all been a big hoax. It’s perpetrated by the Democrats, and some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net. And so they try and do the Democrats’ work. The Democrats are good for nothing other than these hoaxes.”