(WASHINGTON) — When financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was in the news for his arrest for sex trafficking and eventual death in 2019, Democrats distanced themselves from the onetime donor, disavowing his campaign contributions and condemning conservative conspiracy theories about his death.
Six years later, many Democrats and party leaders are leaning into the GOP infighting and far-right anger over the Trump administration’s handling of the case, raising the issue in press conferences, social media posts and on the floor of the House.
“The American people deserve to know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth as it relates to this whole sordid Jeffrey Epstein matter,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Monday. “Democrats didn’t put the Jeffrey Epstein thing into the public domain. This was a conspiracy that Donald Trump, Pam Bondi and these MAGA extremists have been fanning the flames of for the last several years and now the chickens are coming home to roost.”
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., introduced an amendment to a cryptocurrency bill set for a House vote this week that would compel Attorney General Pam Bondi to “retain, preserve and compile” Epstein-related records and release them within 30 days.
Khanna’s measure failed on a 5-7 vote in the House Rules Committee, though Republican Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina voted with Democrats.
On the House floor Tuesday, Democrats raised the issue again, in an unsuccessful effort to force consideration of Khanna’s amendment to get all Republicans on the record.
Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, also introduced a resolution this week calling for the release of “all” unclassified records on Epstein.
Both Democrats told ABC News that the issue underscores the “us versus the elites” dynamic they believe has emerged in politics across America.
“It goes to the central question of our times: Whose side are you on? Are you on the side of the American people who feel that rich and powerful interests have their thumb on the scale and haven’t given them a fair shake? Or are you on the side of protecting the rich and powerful?” Khanna said.
Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., for weeks has led efforts demanding an explanation from the Justice Department about withholding the files.
“A lot of the people who believe all these conspiracy theories did so because they were told that they were accurate by the current FBI director [Kash Patel] and [FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino],” he said.
Before Trump’s election victory, both Patel and Bongino raised questions on conservative podcasts about the withholding of records. Since they have been in office, they have defended the administration’s handling of the situation.
“There could be two reasons for that. One is that it’s all made up for clicks and to make money, and that there’s no basis in fact or evidence, or there is some truth to it, and they’re trying to hide it,”Goldman added.
“People don’t like being misled and don’t like being promised things that are not delivered. And that’s true as it relates to the Epstein files and it’s true as it relates to all of Donald Trump’s campaign promises,” he said.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin has also raised the issue, telling The Bulwark that Democrats are “going to call [Trump] out” for not sharing more records.
The committee also created an X account, called “TrumpEpsteinBot,” to tweet about whether the administration has released the files.
Some Democrats believe the party should be focusing their messaging on the real-world impacts of Trump and Republicans’ policy and legislative agenda.
“This all causes divisions in the MAGA base, which serves Democrats well,” one Democratic operative told ABC News. “But beyond that, most voters are still going to vote based on their pocketbooks.”
A White House spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment on Democrats’ attacks against the administration over the Epstein case.
ABC News’ John Parkinson, Lauren Peller and Lalee Ibssa contributed to this report.
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