The White House tried to blame Democrats for a lack of "transparency" on Jeffrey Epstein after President Donald Trump reversed course and encouraged Republicans to vote for a House petition calling for the Department of Justice to release files related to the notorious sex offender.
After it became clear that Republicans were going to vote for Rep. Thomas Massie's (R-KY) discharge petition, Trump announced on Sunday that he had changed his mind on the release of the Epstein files.
"House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party," the president wrote on Truth Social.
Trump had previously called Republicans "stupid" and "foolish" for supporting Massie's discharge petition.
On Monday, the White House communications office quickly tried to paint Democrats as the obstacle to "transparency" on Epstein.
"Where Is Democrats’ Transparency on Epstein?" an article on the White House website asked. "Why haven’t Democrats shown the same transparency — and what else are they hiding?"
The article noted that Epstein contributed to Democratic Del. Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
"Why aren’t Democrats talking about the fact that former President Bill Clinton traveled on Epstein’s aircraft 26 times?" the article asked. "Why aren’t Democrats talking about the fact that Democrat so-called 'journalist' Katie Couric had dinner at Epstein’s residence after he was already a convicted sex offender who had served jail time?"
"Why aren’t Democrats talking about the fact that the Democrat National Committee refused to return $32,000 in donations from Epstein?" the White House continued. "It’s time for Democrats to answer for their longstanding ties to Epstein. Then, we can get back to what matters to the American people."
Last week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to deny that Trump had spent "hours" at Epstein's home with a sex-trafficking victim.
"This is another distraction campaign by the Democrats and the liberal media, and it's why I'm being asked questions about Epstein instead of the government reopening because of Republicans and President Trump," the press secretary complained.