In the wake of a report claiming that Attorney General Pam Bondi previously informed President Trump he appeared in the Jeffrey Epstein files, Democrats have escalated their rhetoric, branding Republicans the “Pedophile Protection Party.”
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Bondi had a meeting with Trump, alerting the president to the presence of his name in the case files on accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The meeting reportedly took place in May.
While WSJ noted that the context of Trump’s appearance in the files is unknown and the report does not implicate him criminally, Democrats jumped on the breaking news.
“No wonder the Pedophile Protection Party shut Congress down early,” the official Democratic account wrote on X, sharing the article.
The post referenced House Speaker Mike Johnson’s decision to begin the summer pause on voting early, with the House of Representatives slotted to resume activity in September.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called it the “Epstein Recess” and accused Johnson of helping Trump avoid scrutiny. “The speaker should not send the lawmakers home early to avoid dealing with the Epstein issue,” Schumer said on the Senate floor.
Johnson firmly rejecting the suggestion that fear of a vote on unsealing documents related to Epstein’s case motivated the break. “We don’t have any fear. There’s no fear here,” he told press on Wednesday. “I will not allow the House to be drug into political gamesmanship.”
Critics remain unconvinced, including several Democrats who shared their individual reactions to the WSJ article.
“Cats out of the bag!” Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) wrote. “…Or maybe ‘Name is on the list!’ is more fitting.”
“Turns out he was just using the Presidency to protect himself. Shocker,” House minority whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) posted. “The American people deserve the whole truth. Release the files.”
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), a frequent target of attacks from the president, also weighed in. “Trump told the press he was not informed that his name was in the Epstein files. Now we learn that this was a lie,” he said. “Time to end the Trump/Epstein cover-up. Release the files.”
“I, for one, am shocked,” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz added sarcastically.
Despite Trump administration efforts to quell unrest surrounding the files and promising to release grand jury testimony, the collision over Epstein-related transparency is expected to intensify when Congress returns after recess — if not sooner.
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