Trump Warns Dems, Media In Christmas Post Amid Epstein Files Delay
President Donald Trump used a Christmas message posted online to revive his long standing claims of a political witch hunt tied to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, criticizing Democrats and the news media as the Justice Department acknowledged a major delay in releasing records related to the late sex offender.
Trump’s remarks, posted Thursday night on Truth Social, accused unnamed political opponents and media outlets of falsely linking him to Epstein while shielding others he claimed had closer ties to the convicted sex offender, Newsweek reported.
“Merry Christmas to all, including the many Sleazebags who loved Jeffrey Epstein, gave him bundles of money, went to his Island, attended his parties, and thought he was the greatest guy on earth, only to ‘drop him like a dog’ when things got too HOT, falsely claimed they had nothing to do with him, didn’t know him, said he was a disgusting person, and then blame, of course, President Donald J. Trump, who was actually the only one who did drop Epstein, and long before it became fashionable to do so,” Trump wrote.
He continued, “When their names get brought out in the ongoing Radical Left Witch Hunt plus one lowlife ‘Republican,’ Massie, and it is revealed that they are Democrats all, there will be a lot of explaining to do, much like there was when it was made public that the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax was a fictitious story, a total Scam, and had nothing to do with ‘TRUMP.’”
Trump also criticized the New York Times and other media outlets in the post, accusing them of inaccurate reporting and reputational harm.
“The Failing New York Times, among many others, was forced to apologize for their bad and faulty Election ‘Reporting,’ even to the point of losing many subscribers due to their highly inaccurate FAKE coverage,” Trump wrote.
“Now the same losers are at it again, only this time so many of their friends, mostly innocent, will be badly hurt and reputationally tarnished,” he added.
“But sadly, that’s the way it is in the World of Corrupt Democrat Politics,” Trump wrote. “Enjoy what may be your last Merry Christmas! President Donald J. Trump.”
The comments came as the Justice Department said Wednesday it may need a few more weeks to meet a congressionally mandated deadline to release Epstein related records after discovering more than one million potentially relevant documents.
The announcement followed mounting pressure after the department missed a deadline set by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was enacted last month and requires the government to release records related to Epstein and his longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
In a social media post on Christmas Eve, the Justice Department said federal prosecutors in Manhattan and the FBI had uncovered more than one million additional documents that could be connected to the investigation.
The department did not say when it became aware of the newly discovered records.
The disclosure appeared to contradict earlier assurances that officials had conducted a comprehensive review of the material.
The delay prompted backlash on Capitol Hill, where 12 U.S. senators, including 11 Democrats and one Republican, wrote to Acting Inspector General Don Berthiaume requesting an independent audit of the Justice Department’s handling of the records.
“Victims deserve full disclosure,” the senators wrote, saying an inspector general review was necessary to provide peace of mind that the law was being followed.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said earlier this year she ordered the FBI to turn over all Epstein related material after learning the New York field office possessed thousands of pages of documents.
In March, Bondi told Fox News that a “truckload of evidence” had been delivered following her directive.
In July, however, the FBI and Justice Department issued an unsigned memo stating they had completed an exhaustive review and determined no additional evidence should be released. Some lawmakers now say that memo appears inconsistent with the department’s latest disclosure.