President Donald Trump set off alarm bells Monday when he suddenly made an unusual request — the kind he almost never makes. He tried to brush it off with a wild excuse, but his strained delivery only made the moment stranger.
Visibly defeated, Trump urged Republicans and the press on live TV to shut up about the Epstein case files as the U.S. House prepares to vote today on releasing the full slate of documents.
The bill, which would compel the Justice Department to release investigative files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has gained momentum despite Trump’s efforts to suppress it.
Over the weekend, Trump abruptly changed course, urging House Republicans to support the measure: “because we have nothing to hide.” He posted, “I DON’T CARE!”—a statement contradicted by his prior attempts to block the release.
The shift came as reports indicated that more than 100 House Republicans were prepared to support the bill, spurred by constituents demanding transparency and unwilling to appear aligned with anyone implicated in the scandal.
By Monday, Trump again accused Democrats of being solely involved in the scandal and urged Republican lawmakers and the media to keep quiet, as his longtime friendship with Epstein remained at the center of it all.
“They can do whatever they want. But don’t talk about it too much,” Trump said in the Oval Office looking visibly stressed. “Some of the people that we mentioned are being looked at very seriously for their relationship to Jeffrey Epstein, but they were with him all the time. I wasn’t. I wasn’t at all.”
Days earlier, Trump used social media to press the Justice Department to investigate prominent Democrats over their ties to Epstein, including former President Bill Clinton and his former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who has since announced that he was stepping back from public life due to the latest disclosures.
Attorney General Pam Bondi — who previously said the files contained no new leads — responded that she would act immediately and indicated she had already appointed a prosecutor to take charge.
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“And we’ll see what happens,” Trump said Monday. “What I just don’t want Epstein to do is detract from the great success of the Republican party, including the fact that the Democrats are totally to blame for the shutdown. You know they cost our country hundreds of billions of dollars with that, and a lot of inconvenience. So, I’m for … any … I … they can do whatever they want,” Trump stammered. “We’ll give them everything,” he added, bellowing his hands like an accordionist.
That was a telltale sign for viewers online. “Haven’t seen the accordion hands in a while , he must be really nervous,” observed one viewer on Threads.
“You know he’s stressed, he’s playing accordion hands again,” added another. The comments continued to pour in, “Playing the accordion-of-death to mark the passing of his presidency. Tick-Tock Donald, you’re done.”
Others were convinced Trump’s administration already did the job of scrubbing the files. “I hope Kash Patel DID scrub the files. With how incompetent he is at everything else, he’ll have done a horrible job at it and we’d finally get the truth out of everything,’ Dan mocked.
When asked if he would sign the legislation if it reaches his desk, Trump replied, “Sure I would. Let the Senate look at it, let anybody look at it, but don’t talk about it too much because, honestly, I don’t want to take it away from us. It’s really a Democrat problem. The Democrats were Epstein’s friends. All of them. And it’s a hoax.”
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The president’s comments followed a week of escalating tensions. Trump flooded social media with posts defending himself and attacking fellow Republicans who pledged to sign the the petition.
Trump even reposted a statement from one of his lawyers: “If Jeffrey Epstein had any dirt on Donald Trump, he would have had great leverage in the criminal case against him at the time he died.”
Despite claiming indifference, Trump fought the release of the FBI’s Epstein files until the final moment. He changed course only after it became clear the vote would proceed with perhaps unanimous support from House Republicans. At a press gaggle aboard Air Force One on Nov. 14, when asked by a Bloomberg reporter if the files contained anything incriminating, Trump snapped: “Quiet! Quiet, piggy.”
Critics say the outburst and sudden reversal suggest Trump is deeply entangled in the matter.
Many point out that he was a Democrat during the years he was closest to Epstein. The president’s authority allows Trump to order the release of Justice Department records at any time, as he has done with documents related to the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy, and the disappearance of aviator Amelia Earhart. Yet he has declined to release the Epstein files, which he promised to do on the campaign trail.
The bill’s passage in the House would send it to the Senate, where Trump’s influence is also waning. Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a longtime Trump ally, announced he would vote for the measure, citing pressure from his upcoming gubernatorial campaign. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has so far declined to comment.
The vote today shows Trump’s grip on the Republican Party is slipping, and the Epstein scandal is now front and center of his second term. Whether the files will be released, and what they contain, remains to be seen.
