The White House is mounting a political counterattack after Congress moved to force the release of remaining Jeffrey Epstein files. Officials plan to spotlight documents that mention Democrats — including texts involving Delegate Stacey Plaskett during a 2019 hearing — and have asked the Justice Department to look into reported connections. The push follows House and Senate votes to disclose the materials and will test President Trump’s influence within the GOP while critics warn it may politicize accountability for Epstein’s victims.
White House Launches Counteroffensive After Congress Forces Release of Epstein Files
The White House is mounting a political counterattack after Congress moved to force the release of remaining Jeffrey Epstein files. Officials plan to spotlight documents that mention Democrats — including texts involving Delegate Stacey Plaskett during a 2019 hearing — and have asked the Justice Department to look into reported connections. The push follows House and Senate votes to disclose the materials and will test President Trump’s influence within the GOP while critics warn it may politicize accountability for Epstein’s victims.
06:36 PM, 11/19/2025Politics
The Trump administration, facing political fallout from recent elections and its unsuccessful effort to block congressional disclosure of Jeffrey Epstein records, is preparing a public counteroffensive aimed at Democrats it says had ties to Epstein.
White House officials, speaking on background, say the strategy will highlight documents and messages from Epstein's estate that name several high-profile Democrats and associates. They have singled out U.S. Virgin Islands Delegate Stacey Plaskett after texts showed messages exchanged with Epstein during a 2019 congressional hearing; those messages appear to show Epstein attempting to influence the hearing.
A staffer for Delegate Plaskett said the congresswoman received many messages — from Epstein, staff, constituents and members of the public — during the hearing and has publicly expressed her disgust at Epstein's conduct. Plaskett's office did not provide further comment for this report.
What the records and officials show
The materials made public last week include a range of communications and notes turned over by Epstein's estate to congressional investigators. Among them is a 2018 email from Epstein claiming President Trump "knew about the girls," a claim President Trump has denied; there is no public evidence linking the president to Epstein's criminal conduct.
White House aides say they have instructed the Department of Justice to review any potential ties between Epstein and several prominent Democrats noted in the files, including former President Bill Clinton, former Harvard president Larry Summers and investor Reid Hoffman. Summers announced he would step back from public life after emails showed he sought Epstein's advice in a personal matter. Clinton, Summers and Hoffman have not been charged in connection with Epstein's criminal activity and have denied wrongdoing.
"President Trump has nothing to hide, but the Democrats should be very scared because they have secrets to hide," a White House official said, explaining the administration's intent to emphasize what it calls Democratic hypocrisy on Epstein-related issues.
Senators approved legislation this week that would require the Justice Department to release any remaining files related to Epstein, following an overwhelming House vote that sent the bill to the president. The move comes despite months of resistance from the administration, which sought to block disclosure.
White House officials characterize the forthcoming campaign as a well-worn political playbook: use aggressive public messaging to put pressure on opponents, test whether the president can still exert influence over rivals and force political costs on those who cross him. Critics argue the approach risks inflaming partisan divisions and distracting from accountability for Epstein's victims.
The White House has also noted donations Epstein made decades ago to political organizations aligned with Democrats as part of its messaging. A Democratic Party spokesperson said the new disclosure effort brings the country closer to transparency and justice for Epstein's victims and criticized attempts to turn the files into a purely political weapon.
President Trump has denied writing a letter to Epstein that has been referenced in the documents and has filed a defamation suit against the news outlet that first reported the alleged letter.
This developing political fight will test whether the president can use the disclosures to reshape public attention and whether the strategy will affect his standing within the Republican Party as legal and political questions continue to unfold.