Epstein furor undermines public trust, Republican election hopes, two US lawmakers say

By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The uproar over disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein could undermine public trust in the Trump administration, as well as Republican hopes of retaining control of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections, two U.S. lawmakers said on Sunday.

Republican Representative Thomas Massie and Democratic Representative Ro Khanna, who want the House of Representatives to vote on their bipartisan resolution requiring full release of the government's Epstein files, said the lack of transparency is reinforcing public perceptions that the rich and powerful live beyond the reach of the judicial system.

"This is going to hurt Republicans in the midterms. The voters will be apathetic if we don't hold the rich and powerful accountable," Massie, a hardline conservative from Kentucky, told NBC's "Meet the Press" program.

Republicans hope to add to their current 219-212 House majority - with four seats currently vacant - and 53-47 Senate majority in November 2026, although the U.S. political cycle traditionally punishes the party of the sitting president during midterm elections.

The Washington Post reported late on Sunday that Trump was increasingly frustrated with his administration's handling of the furor around Epstein.

Even so, the president was hesitant to make personnel changes to avoid creating a "bigger spectacle" as his top officials underestimated the outrage from Trump's own base over the issue, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed sources.

Khanna said Attorney General Pam Bondi triggered "a crisis of trust" by saying there was no list of Epstein clients after previously implying that one existed. The change in position unleashed a tsunami of calls for her resignation from Trump's MAGA base.

"This is about trust in government," the California Democrat told "Meet the Press." "This is about being a reform agent of transparency."

President Donald Trump, who on Sunday announced an EU trade deal in Scotland, has been frustrated by continued questions about his administration's handling of investigative files related to Epstein's criminal charges and 2019 death by suicide in prison.

Massie and Khanna believe they can win enough support from fellow lawmakers to force a vote on their resolution when Congress returns from its summer recess in September. But they face opposition from Republican leaders including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who sent lawmakers home a day early to stymie Democratic efforts to force a vote before the break.

Johnson, who also appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press," said he favors a non-binding alternative resolution that calls for release of "credible" evidence, but which he said would better protect victims including minors.

"The Massie and Khanna discharge petition is reckless in the way that it is drafted and presented," Johnson said. "It does not adequately include those protections."

Massie dismissed Johnson's claim as "a straw man" excuse. "Ro and I carefully crafted this legislation so that the victims' names will be redacted," he said. "They're hiding behind that."

Trump has tried and failed so far to distract attention from the Epstein controversy six months into his second term.

On Saturday, Trump repeated his claims without evidence that 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and other Democrats should be prosecuted over payment for endorsements from celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce and the Reverend Al Sharpton.

Last week he accused former President Barack Obama of "treason" over how the Obama administration treated intelligence about Russian interference in U.S. elections nine years ago, drawing a rebuke from an Obama spokesperson.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch Trump ally, said on Sunday that Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's director of national intelligence, had found new information that investigators initially discovered no evidence of Russian election interference but changed their position after Obama told them to keep looking.

"I'm not alleging he committed treason, but I am saying it bothers me," Graham told "Meet the Press."

Democratic Representative Jason Crow dismissed Gabbard's claims, telling the "Fox News Sunday" program that the national intelligence director had turned herself into "a weapon of mass distraction."

The Department of Justice has said it is forming a strike force to assess Gabbard's claims.

(Reporting by David Morgan; additional reporting by Kanishka Singh;Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Leslie Adler and Lincoln Feast.)