Conservative influencers defend Trump, House to vote on releasing Epstein files

Some prominent conservative influencers sought to downplay newly released emails from Jeffrey Epstein in which the convicted sex offender wrote that Donald Trump "knew about the girls," arguing the messages were part of a broader Democratic hoax targeting the U.S. president.



The emails, released by House Democrats on Wednesday, again thrust the relationship between Epstein and Trump into the spotlight. Trump, who was friends with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s before the two had a falling out, has consistently denied knowing about the late financier’s abuse and sex

trafficking of underage girls.



The House will vote next week on whether to require the Justice Department to publish all of its unclassified files on Epstein.



Democrats said the emails, including one in which Epstein said Trump spent hours at his house with one of his victims, raised troubling new questions about what Trump may have known. Republican lawmakers responded by releasing 20,000 Epstein-related documents and accused Democrats of cherry-picking a handful of messages to advance a false narrative.