Behind closed doors, President Donald Trump unsuccessfully tried to slow down legislation to disclose the government’s information on accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, according to a new report. And soon after failing, Trump publicly lashed out at comedian Jimmy Kimmel for mocking him over the episode.
Reuters reported on Wednesday that following the overwhelming passage of the Epstein legislation, Trump’s team privately pushed to add amendments that would have delayed the bill. These efforts failed, and the Senate passed the House bill unchanged.
Sky Roberts, brother of prominent Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, speaks during a news conference on Nov. 18.
Trump long opposed passage of the bill and has stonewalled on releasing the government’s information. At any time, he could have requested that his Justice Department release the files, but he has refused to do so.
In the meantime, reports have emerged that Trump’s name reportedly appears throughout the government’s documents on Epstein. More recently, in a cache of emails secured by House Democrats, Epstein claimed that Trump “knew about the girls,” likely referring to the underage girls Epstein is accused of trafficking.
Reuters cites sources in the administration revealing that after Trump and his team failed to block passage of the disclosure bill, they privately pressured senators to add amendments under the guise of protecting victims’ identities, despite the fact that numerous Epstein accusers have pushed for the disclosure. If Trump’s preferred course of action had been followed, the bill would have been delayed.
Instead, Trump signed the bill on Wednesday night, capping months of humiliation as Republicans rejected his demands to ignore the issue.
Not long after, Trump was on the warpath. At 12:49 AM ET on Thursday, he posted a message to his Truth Social platform, complaining about comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night monologue.
“Why does ABC Fake News keep Jimmy Kimmel, a man with NO TALENT and VERY POOR TELEVISION RATINGS, on the air? Why do the TV Syndicates put up with it? Also, totally biased coverage. Get the bum off the air!!!” he wrote.
Kimmel spent a significant portion of that night’s monologue mocking Trump for being pushed into signing the Epstein bill.
“Usually when Trump gets a bill, he declares bankruptcy and doesn’t pay it,” Kimmel said, adding, “Trump hasn’t been this nervous about signing something since Don Jr.’s birth certificate.”
Kimmel also chided Trump for the Republican defections that led to the bill’s passage. “This has also been a blow to Trump because some of his most loyal foot-lickers betrayed him,” he said, referring to stalwart MAGA lawmakers who voted in favor of the Epstein bill.
Just a few months ago, the Trump administration tried to use the power of the federal government to remove Kimmel from his popular late-night program. After a few days off air, Kimmel returned and did so with the support of most of the public, achieving some of late night’s best ratings in years. As his Epstein monologue shows, Kimmel hasn’t been cowed into silence by Trump.
The Trump administration, most notably through Attorney General Pam Bondi, has made it clear they still intend to throw up roadblocks in releasing the Epstein files. But on this issue, Trump has been utterly abandoned by his previously lockstep allies in the Republican Party, and they are following in the footsteps of the Democrats and the public who are pushing for the truth.
