Backed into a corner by the bipartisan push to release Epstein documents, the Trump administration prepares a political assault targeting Democrats—testing the president’s waning grip on the GOP.
“The Democrats are going to come to regret this,” one White House official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “You think we’re not going to make a scene of this? Let’s start with Stacey Plaskett.”
The Senate’s unanimous approval Tuesday of the bill requiring the Department of Justice to release any remaining Epstein-related documents came just hours after the House passed it by a staggering 427–1 margin—a bipartisan rebuke of the administration’s efforts to quash transparency.
The vote sent the measure directly to President Donald Trump’s desk, despite months of behind-the-scenes pressure from the White House to kill the bill.
Inside the West Wing, the mood has darkened. Officials complain that Republicans “worked with Democrats to create a distraction” and fear that releasing the files will never satisfy a segment of the conservative base that distrusts the Justice Department.
Texts Between Plaskett and Epstein Spark New Political Flashpoint
A central target of the administration’s emerging attack strategy: Rep. Stacey Plaskett, the nonvoting Virgin Islands delegate, whose text messages with Epstein during a 2019 House hearing surfaced in documents recently released by Epstein’s estate.
In the texts, Epstein appeared to attempt to influence the questions Plaskett raised during the Oversight Committee proceeding.
Her office has not commented publicly, though a staffer told The Washington Post that Plaskett received messages from a wide array of sources during hearings and has been “clear about her disgust” with Epstein’s crimes.
But for Trump’s advisers, the incident represents an opening. They argue Democrats’ emphasis on Republican ties to Epstein has boomeranged.
A President Testing His Remaining Leverage
The looming counterattack will test whether Trump retains the political intimidation power he once wielded effortlessly—a key question as murmurs grow about whether the president is entering a lame-duck period.
“President Trump has nothing to hide,” another White House official insisted. “But the Democrats should be scared—they’re the ones with secrets.”
The administration says it will highlight connections between Epstein and prominent Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, former Harvard President Larry Summers, and Democratic megadonor Reid Hoffman—all of whom appeared in documents associated with the House Oversight Committee’s releases.
Summers, who stepped back from public life this week following revelations that he sought Epstein’s advice on a personal matter, has denied wrongdoing, as have Clinton and Hoffman. Hoffman publicly called for the full release of all Epstein-related files.
A Dangerous Claim Reemerges
A newly surfaced 2018 email from Epstein stating that Trump “knew about the girls” has fueled Democratic demands for more disclosures. Trump has categorically denied the allegation and maintains he severed ties with Epstein long before the financier’s arrest.
No evidence has linked Trump to Epstein’s crimes.
Still, the political damage has intensified, and the White House is scrambling to shift the narrative.
A White House on Defense—and Now Offense
Senior aides accuse Democrats of weaponizing the issue only after concluding it could be used to wound Trump.
“Democrats only started talking about the Epstein files when they thought it would hurt the president,” one official said. “That will prove to be a mistake.”
Another pointed to more than $32,000 in donations Epstein made to the Democratic National Committee decades ago—suggesting the party never returned the money.
Democrats Fire Back
A DNC spokesperson applauded Congress for pressing ahead with the bill despite “Donald Trump’s best efforts to stonewall the pursuit of justice for Epstein’s victims.”
The spokesperson then added a pointed jab:
“Does Trump’s newest strategy finally include sharing what ‘wonderful secret’ he supposedly kept with Jeffrey Epstein?”
Trump has denied the existence of such a secret and has sued The Wall Street Journal for reporting on the alleged letter.
A High-Stakes Fight for Control of the Narrative
As the Epstein saga expands into a broader partisan conflict, the White House is gambling that shifting attention toward Democrats’ ties to Epstein will blunt the political blow it has suffered.
Whether that strategy succeeds—or further exposes internal fractures within the GOP—will shape a volatile chapter in an already tumultuous presidency.
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-- By James W. Thomas
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