Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) is raising serious concerns about why Donald Trump is suddenly silent on releasing Jeffrey Epstein’s files — after years of promising to do exactly that.
Speaking Wednesday on CNN’s Laura Coates Live, Raskin pointed directly at Trump’s about-face and questioned what’s really behind it.
“Donald Trump said for years that they were going to release the files,” Raskin said. “And now, all of a sudden, he apparently knows what’s in the files, and he doesn’t want to release them anymore.”
Raskin pointed to Trump’s long history with Epstein, the convicted sex offender who was linked to a network involving underage girls and high-profile men.
“We know he was close friends with Jeffrey Epstein. Some people have said that they were best friends for a decade,” Raskin continued. “We know that there are lots of photographs of them and video together. Perhaps that explains it, perhaps it’s because there are other friends of Donald Trump that are in there.”
Photos and footage have shown Trump and Epstein socializing at parties in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Epstein later faced state charges for sex crimes but got what critics have called a “sweetheart deal” in 2008 from Alexander Acosta, then U.S. Attorney in Florida. Acosta went on to serve in Trump’s Cabinet as Secretary of Labor.
Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution and soliciting an underage prostitute. He served 18 months in jail, with special privileges.
“I mean, the guy was convicted of one charge of solicitation when he was having sex with all of these underaged girls and running this predatory ring,” Raskin said. “He had to sleep in jail but, otherwise, he was free during the daytime.”
“I mean, it was crazy, the way he was treated,” he added. “There cannot be two separate systems of justice, one for the vast majority of American people and another for power elites who know people and can get away with this stuff.”
Trump has since tried to distance himself from Epstein — now claiming the documents are fake and created by political enemies. That shift has confused even his own supporters, who once cheered him for saying the files would be released.
“It’s ridiculous,” Raskin said. “There’s already been numerous law enforcement investigations. The file exists. The information is there. That’s why Donald Trump has been demanding that it go public for the last several years.”
Then Raskin floated a disturbing possibility behind Trump’s sudden silence.
“Perhaps he wants to be using all of this information for purposes of blackmail,” Raskin said. “I don’t know. But he has done a 180-degree turn from what he said, and he’s the one who has created this entire crisis.”
Watch the clip below:
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
