Press Releases

Representative James R. Walkinshaw (VA-11) released the following statement ahead of the House vote to force Trump’s Department of Justice to release the Epstein Files.

“I will proudly vote YES to release the Epstein Files.

From the start, Donald Trump’s behavior around these documents has been strange, frantic, and deeply troubling. This White House cover-up has been directed from the top — by a President who has done everything possible to block the truth from coming out.

He recently attempted to bully House Republicans into removing their names from the bipartisan discharge petition — an all-out effort to stop this vote from ever happening.

Then, once it became clear the votes were there, he made a bizarre 180 and suddenly claimed to support releasing the files — even though he has always had the power, as President of the United States, to release them himself. The fact that he still refuses to do so speaks volumes.

The contradictions are glaring. For years, conspiracy movements like QAnon and Pizzagate built Trump up as the hero who would expose a so-called “deep-state cabal” of abusers. Yet the newly released emails suggest Trump knew about Epstein’s abuses, spent hours with one of the victims at Epstein’s homes, and took no action — even as Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were trafficking young girls, including from Mar-a-Lago.

It raises serious questions about what he is trying to hide, and why he fought so hard to block transparency.

But this vote is not about him. It is about the victims and survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and the rich and powerful men who committed terrible crimes for years. Men who believed their status and connections would shield them forever.

This week’s House vote to release the files is one giant step toward the accountability survivors deserve. The American people deserve the truth. And I will vote to make it public.”

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