‘The View’ Blasts White House, Press Secretary Over Handling of Epstein Emails

The View hosts spent two segments sharply criticizing the White House’s response after new emails tied to Jeffrey Epstein surfaced, focusing in particular on press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s description of the administration’s actions as “transparency.”

Situation Room Meeting Draws Fire

The panel reviewed footage of Leavitt’s press briefing in which she said President Donald Trump summoned several Republican lawmakers — including Lauren Boebert, who had been poised to vote to release the files — to the Situation Room with senior administration officials. Leavitt called the meeting a demonstration of transparency; the hosts were unconvinced.

'No,' said Whoopi Goldberg in immediate response.

Panel Reactions

The co-hosts parsed the optics and implications. They played reactions from Republican figures describing the outreach as 'a self-inflicted wound by the White House,' warning 'they are going to lose this fight,' and suggesting the party’s posture amounted to shielding allies in a primary if they voted to cover up alleged misconduct.

Sara Haines rejected a partisan frame, arguing the matter is about crime and victims rather than party labels. She contrasted the small number of emails Democrats released with an expansive Republican release — described on the show as some 22,000 documents put out shortly afterward — which she said risked 'flooding the zone' and making it harder for the public to assess the material.

Haines also questioned the use of the Situation Room for this meeting, calling it 'never used for something like this' and traditionally reserved for national-security matters. Noting Leavitt’s comment that the currently published emails were not 'that incriminating' of Mr. Trump, Haines suggested there may still be more material to see and argued the motive for resisting fuller disclosure is to protect wealthy, powerful figures tied to the scandal.

Ana Navarro framed the story as one of privilege and protection: 'This is white, rich, powerful entitled men protecting other white rich powerful entitled men.' She said the country and its institutions have failed Epstein’s victims repeatedly and warned that any lawmaker who votes to block disclosure 'will carry a stain on your personal character for the rest of your life.' Navarro urged colleagues to prioritize moral judgment over partisan loyalty.

Alyssa Farah Griffin criticized the White House’s handling from the start, arguing that if the administration insists the president is uninvolved, its behavior should reflect that. She called the Situation Room summons 'unheard of' and praised four Republicans — Thomas Massie, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, and Nancy Mace — who resisted pressure to withdraw support for releasing the files. Griffin predicted more House Republicans could ultimately back disclosure, saying the issue will follow members into midterm campaigns and test their consciences.

Sunny Hostin highlighted the content of the released communications, calling some messages 'gross' and 'disgusting,' and noted at least one message that the panel interpreted as suggesting Mr. Trump 'knew about the girls.' She and others debated the legislative path: if the House approves a disclosure measure, would the Senate take it up and would the president sign it?

Why It Matters

The discussion on The View covered both procedural questions — such as the unprecedented use of the Situation Room — and broader moral and political consequences of withholding or revealing documents tied to a high-profile criminal figure. Panelists converged on a call for greater transparency to serve victims and to restore public trust.

The View, Weekdays, 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT, ABC.