President Donald Trump’s decision to halt the release of files related to Jeffrey Epstein has triggered widespread criticism, not just from political rivals. Even members of his own family are publicly condemning the move. During his 2024 re-election campaign, Trump hinted that long-rumored Epstein documents, including what many believed to be a damning “client list,” would soon be made public.
That list was thought to detail powerful individuals possibly linked to the convicted sex offender’s crimes. However, earlier this week, the president reversed course, citing a Justice Department review that found no evidence such a list ever existed and recommending that no additional documents be released.
The abrupt about-face has caused an uproar across party lines. Critics are accusing the administration of shielding the powerful and reneging on promises of transparency. Among the most vocal detractors is Mary Trump, the president’s estranged niece and frequent critic, who sharply rebuked her uncle in an exclusive Substack interview with journalist Katie.
“Either [the Epstein investigation] does implicate people Donald doesn’t want implicated publicly, or it doesn’t implicate the people he’s been promising us for a decade,” Mary Trump told Katie. “Either way, he looks like a liar or he looks like he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
President Trump has since intensified his attacks on fellow Republicans who support the push to unseal more Epstein-related records. Speaking from the Oval Office on Wednesday, he told reporters: “Some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net, and so they try and do the Democrats’ work,” repeating his claim that the focus on the Epstein files is a “hoax” engineered by Democrats.
But Mary Trump says the president’s rhetoric is all too familiar. “He’s really lost control of the narrative here,” she said. “We’ve seen it before — someone pushes back against him, stands up to him, and suddenly they’re stupid, they’re liars, they don’t know what they’re talking about. But the difference now is that it’s his own people.”
Mary is closely monitoring Congress, where support is growing among Republicans for legislation that would compel the Justice Department to release more documents. The initiative has gained momentum, fueled in part by pressure from victims’ advocates and legal voices such as David Boies, attorney for Virginia Giuffre, a key Epstein accuser.
“What I’m most interested in, because I think it could actually have an impact on how this plays out,” Mary added, “is what elected Republicans in Congress decide to do here. ’Cause they are between a rock and a hard place.” Click here to read the full interview with Mary Trump, including her views on President Trump’s health and reported tensions with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.