How Trump could try to withhold Epstein files

House lawmakers are expected to unite on a bill to release the investigation documents

- By Michael Wilner

PRESIDENT Trump answers questions in the Oval Office. If Congress approves the Epstein files act, it will still need Trump's signature.

In political exile at his mansion in Florida, under investigation for possessing highly classified documents, Donald Trump summoned his lawyer in 2022 for a fateful conversation. A folder had been compiled with 38 documents that should have been returned to the federal government. But Trump had other ideas.

Making a plucking motion, Trump suggested his attorney, Evan Corcoran, remove the most incriminating material. "Why don't you take them with you to your hotel room, and if there's anything really bad in there, like, you know, pluck it out," Corcoran memorialized in a series of notes that surfaced during criminal proceedings.

Trump's purported willingness to conceal evidence from law enforcement as a private citizen is now fueling concern on Capitol Hill that his efforts to thwart the release of Justice Department files in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation could lead to similar obstructive efforts — this time wielding the powers of the presidency.

Since resuming office in January, Trump has opposed releasing files from the federal investigation into the conduct of his former friend, a convicted sex offender and alleged sex trafficker who is believed to have abused more than 200 women and girls. But bipartisan fervor has only grown over the case, with House lawmakers across party lines expected to unite behind a bill on Tuesday that would compel the release of the documents.

Last week, facing intensifying public pressure, the House Oversight Committee released over 20,000 files from Epstein's estate that referenced Trump more than 1,000 times.