Donald Trump is trying to "silence his own party" when it comes to releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files, commentator Adam Kinzinger has claimed.
The ex-GOP representative believes the president is keen to "bury the files," with a fresh focus on them following the end of a 43-day government shutdown. Kinzinger said, "Just like everything else, he denies it, and it's real. And then he calls it a hoax. Now, he's actually calling Republican members of congress on the phone, personally, begging them to remove their names from the discharge petition, the thing that would actually force this for a vote.
"He'll rarely pick up the phone to pass legislation that he plans to support, but he's making calls to block this. Ask yourself why. Ask yourself what a man who is innocent would be doing right now. He wouldn't be trying to bury the files, he wouldn't be trying to silence his own party."
It comes as legal expert Dave Aronberg claimed there could be a wealth of information in accused pedophile Epstein's emails that could cause trouble for Trump. Attorney Aronberg said, "But keep in mind, in 2011, that's when you saw perhaps the most damaging email. That's the one where Jeffrey Epstein called Trump ‘The dog that didn't bark.’"
"That was well before Trump ran for president. I mean, if perhaps it was before the initial attempt, but not the serious one in 2016. So what incentive would Jeffrey Epstein have to lie back then in that email?" he asked.
"This, as you correctly said, is all a self-inflicted wound because Trump should have gotten in front of all of this and said, ‘I kicked the guy out of the club. He's a creep. And yes, I was friends with him, but I'm going to do radical transparency and release all the files,’ because the cover-up can be worse than the crime."
Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough went on to suggest the GOP has shot itself in the foot when it comes to the 20,000 released documents. He said, "Here's the crazy thing. There's more. Supposedly, this is just a subset of all the Epstein files; that's what reporters are saying. Thank you, Republicans, for releasing 20,000 plus, you've kept this alive."