When Republicans believed former President Bill Clinton was immersed in the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking scandal, they were all about demanding the Biden administration Justice Department to investigate him.

Now that Democrats are convinced the files implicate Trump, they are willing to risk throwing Clinton under the bus and have replaced Republicans in the chorus demanding full transparency regarding the Epstein probe.

There's only one way to end the rampant speculation, damaging to both presidents and a host of other individuals whose names have been tied to Epstein's sex ring. And that's to release the files.

There's really no reason not to make them public. Epstein died of an apparent 2019 suicide while being held in a New York City jail, where he was awaiting prosecution on the child sex trafficking and exploitation charges.

His accomplice and paramour, Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted of child sex trafficking and is serving a 20-year sentence.

If there are ongoing criminal investigations against any other individuals, the Justice Department has the ability to redact or withhold any related materials.

The rest should be made public.

Of most interest would be the client list, if it exists, of those who flew on Epstein's Lolita Express jet along with the underage girls who were on board. Both Trump and Clinton appear on the jet's flight logs.

Maxwell told a Justice Department lawyer she never saw Trump "in an inappropriate setting," according to transcripts of the interview.

Of Clinton, the former socialite says he was her friend, not Epstein's, and said she had no knowledge of him visiting the island. When officers arrived at Epstein's home to arrest him, they found a painting of Clinton in a blue dress and red heels prominently displayed.

In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed the Epstein client list was "sitting on my desk." But in July, the Justice Department and FBI said there is no such incriminating inventory of individuals who frolicked with Epstein.

Which is true?

Last Wednesday, women who say they were exploited by Epstein and Maxwell stood outside the Capitol and demanded the release of the Epstein files. They were joined by a host of Democratic lawmakers, as well as Republicans Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

Massie and California Democrat Ro Khanna are attempting to gather the 218 representative signatures required for a discharge petition to move a bill demanding the release of the files to a full House vote. They are four names short. Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Lauren Bobert of Colorado are the only other Republicans to sign the petition.

The discharge effort is opposed by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who at one time was a proponent of transparency in the Epstein case. Republicans tried to head off the petition by releasing 30,000 pages of Epstein documents, which reportedly contain mostly old information.

As for Trump, when asked about the discharge petition, he repeated his recent claims that the whole matter is "a Democratic hoax." The president had previously said he was open to releasing the files. Now he says there's nothing of interest in them. Trump says his friendship with Epstein broke when the financier recruited young women staffers away from his Mar-a-Lago resort.

A House committee continues to examine the Epstein files, but seems to have lost its sense of urgency.

If there is nothing in the files to incriminate Trump, it would be in his best interest to have the files opened and put the rumors to rest. He should order Bondi to release them.

©2025 www.detroitnews.com. Visit at detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.