Trump’s biggest “miscalculation” was calling Epstein files a hoax: Greene

Former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, said during an interview that was released on Saturday by the Owen Report that President Donald Trump made the “biggest political miscalculation of [his] career” by calling the Jeffrey Epstein files a hoax.

The former congresswoman also said the president “fought the hardest to stop these files from being released.”

Newsweek reached out to Greene for any further comments and to the White House for a response outside of normal business hours.

Why It Matters

Earlier this year, the DOJ published more than 3 million pages of material under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Trump signed into law in November, that included 2,000 videos and 180,000 images. Appearing in the Epstein files is not indicative of criminal wrongdoing, and there haven’t been any arrests or charges filed against those named.

The release of files—with millions of pages still withheld—has created a political firestorm for the Trump administration. Republicans and Democrats alike have called for greater transparency even as the president has said the country should move on. 

Fallout from the release continues to spread around the world and could affect the makeup of the Trump administration. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have called on Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to resign after the files showed he maintained contact with Epstein long after a 2008 conviction where the late financier pleaded guilty to charges of procuring a child for prostitution.

Republican lawmakers have started to take the issue more seriously. Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis said last week that while she previously had not seen “the big deal,” she now believes the Epstein files are “worth investigating.“

Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi have also faced intense backlash from the MAGA base over the handling of the files.

What To Know              

Greene was once a staunch supporter of Trump and the MAGA movement but has become a fierce critic. Trump soured on the former congresswoman after she backed Democratic efforts to release the Epstein files, calling her a “ranting lunatic” on Truth Social in November. Greene announced her resignation from Congress that month, with her last day coming on January 5 of this year. She cited the files release as a major cause of her rift with Trump.

In the interview released Saturday, Greene said of Trump: “He fought the hardest to stop these files from being released, and the only reason that he signed our bill that we passed in the House was because he had to. It became a massive political problem.”

She said Trump had House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, “refuse to bring the bill to the floor to the point where Thomas Massie, myself, Nancy Mace and Lauren Boebert actually had to vote with all of the Democrats to get it released, to get it the discharge petition passed so that the bill could come to the floor.”

She added: “All the other Republicans that voted finally to get these files released…they wouldn’t have done it unless all of you people at home hadn’t been losing your minds and talking about it and yelling about it every single day.”

On Saturday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a letter to Congress outlining the categories of records it released and withheld under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, as required under the new law. In one section it listed more than 300 prominent individuals “named of referenced in the released materials.” But Greene and others immediately criticized that list, which included their names and the likes of Trump, Kim Kardashian, Kurt Cobain, and Bruce Springsteen.

Greene wrote on X that some names “don’t make sense like Janice Joplin who died in 1970, and all kinds of politicians including those of us who fought the hardest to release the files like me, Thomas Massie, Ro Khanna, and Nancy Mace.”

She said her mentions in the files were unrelated to Epstein, including her criticism of COVID masks rules. “Why are stories about my refusal to comply with Covid tyranny and other news stories unrelated to Epstein about me listed in the Epstein files???” she asked.

Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, wrote on X that the DOJ was “purposefully muddying the waters on who was a predator and who was mentioned in an email.”

What People are Saying

Representative Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, wrote on X: “Despite the memo released by DOJ last night, not all the Epstein files have been released. And the excuses provided for not releasing all the files will not hold up in a court of law. This isn’t going away until people go to jail.”

Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, said on ABC News’ This Week on Sunday: “Donald Trump told us that even though he had dinner with these kinds of people in New York City and West Palm Beach, that he would be transparent. But he’s not. He’s still in with the Epstein class. This is the Epstein administration, and they are attacking me for trying to get these files released.”

Podcaster Joe Rogan said on his show last week: “This is definitely not a hoax. And if you got redacted people’s names and these people aren’t victims, you’re not protecting the victims.”

President Donald Trump to reporters in November: “It’s really a Democrat problem. The Democrats were Epstein’s friends, all of them. And it’s a hoax, the whole thing is a hoax.”

Pam Bondi wrote in her letter to Congress: “No records were withheld or redacted ‘on the basis of embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary’…Any omissions from the list are unintentional and, as explained in the previous letters to Congress, a result of the volume and speed with which the Department complied with the Act. Individuals whose names were redacted for law-enforcement sensitive purposes are not included.”

What Happens Next

Lawmakers who pushed for transparency indicated they will continue to scrutinize the DOJ’s redactions and the completeness of the release.

Mace has also indicated she’ll be making other requests for Epstein-related information as well, telling NPR last week, “You’re going to see a series of requests from me through the Oversight Committee because that is my jurisdiction. You’re going to see a letter from me to the CIA asking for Epstein documents.”

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