U.S. Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD) questioned the validity of President Donald Trump‘s “180” on the release of the so-called “Epstein Files,” even floating a less talked about — and illegal — potential reason for the Trump administration’s decision to shutter the Epstein investigation and release no further information to the public.
The most common reason cited for Trump’s reversal by both Democratic lawmakers and MAGA adherents like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is that the administration — including key figures AG Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Trump himself — is protecting powerful people who were involved in Epstein’s crimes.
(Former Trump ally Elon Musk has also made this claim — loudly and publicly.)
Yeah, where is it? https://t.co/9evoiWG4kl
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 17, 2025
But Raskin, while acknowledging that Trump simply may not want his own Epstein association further scrutinized, also floated the idea that Trump may be holding on to the files for “purposes of blackmail.”
Raskin’s “blackmail” theory considers that releasing the Epstein list publicly would also squander whatever power Trump may hold over compromised individuals on the list — power he could continue to wield by withholding the information and retaining the threat to release it in the future. (The President is fond of noting who “holds the cards” in any dealmaking scenario; here the one with the secrets holds the cards.)
If there is an Epstein client list — and if it contains explosive revelations — it is much more valuable to Trump if he controls its distribution. Raskin’s notion implies that Trump could compel great favors from anyone on the list who wished to remain unexposed.
Raskin said: “[Trump] apparently knows what’s in the files, and he doesn’t want to release them anymore. We know he was close friends with Jeffrey Epstein. Some people said that they were best friends.” (Epstein once reportedly referred to Trump as his closest friend.)
“Perhaps that explains it. Perhaps it’s because there are other friends of Donald Trump that are in there,” Raskin said. But then Raskin goes further: “Or perhaps he wants to be using all of this information for purposes of blackmail. I don’t know.”
Raskin: Trump said for years that they were going to release the files. And now…he apparently knows what’s in the files, and he doesn’t want to release them anymore. We know he was close friends with Jeffrey Epstein. Perhaps that explains it. Perhaps it’s because there are other… pic.twitter.com/NzWVAY4e7n
— Acyn (@Acyn) July 17, 2025
MAGA and the likes of Raskin have the same question: How could Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell be sentenced to 20 years for her role in Epstein’s sex trafficking crimes, and yet there is no record of any person or co-conspirator to whom the underage victims were trafficked? No “client list,” as MAGA calls it?
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) said this week that it is a “case of the powerful protecting the powerful and we need to have those files released.”