Marjorie Taylor Greene blasts Trump over Epstein files, claims allies were punished

Former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene took fresh shots at President Donald Trump for allegedly protecting individuals linked with the wrongdoings of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Greene, a Republican, claimed that she and her colleagues, who fought for the release of the controversial files on the disgraced financier, are facing retaliation from Trump, citing the recent loss of Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) in the primaries. 

"We fought to hold the rapists, pedophiles, and elites accountable, and Trump fought us instead and protected them," Greene wrote in a post on X following a series of posts showing support for Massie. Greene had previously expressed that releasing the Epstein files was the demise of the defecting Republicans, but "it was worth every single bit because now everyone knows the truth." 

Massie and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna (Calif.) co-sponsored the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which forced the Justice Department to release over three million pages tied to Epstein's dealings and associates after it was signed into law last year. Critics argue that this was the last straw for the President, who already had a contentious relationship with Massie. Following his loss to Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein in Kentucky, Greene expressed that "the future of the Republican Party was destroyed."

Massie, too, expressed concern for his party amid the growing hostility towards members who stood up against Trump. "It's dangerous when you shrink the tent," Massie told MS NOW on Tuesday, following his loss. "I give him a lot of credit for growing the tent and building a coalition that included people like Bobby Kennedy, Tulsi Gabbard, and MAHA and DOGE," Massie said. "But one by one, those people are being forced out of the party, or those people who support those people are being forced out," he added. He further warned that his loss had "pared the tree" of the party, and it could come back to haunt Republicans. 

The campaign for further disclosures and release of documents that weren't in the initial rollout has continued to gain momentum. As per CNN, about 2.5 million documents in the Justice Department's investigative files on Epstein have not been publicly released, and many of the pages that were released are heavily redacted, raising questions over what's being hidden. Members of Congress and Epstein's victims, meanwhile, have demanded that the Trump administration release the crucial redacted information and the withheld files. On Capitol Hill, lawmakers have been exploring new legislation, and a deposition of former Attorney General Pam Bondi under oath about her handling of the Epstein files is scheduled to take place on May 29 and is expected to provide insight into what is being withheld.

Meanwhile, in the May 12 Epstein hearing in West Palm Beach, House Democrats pledged that they will get more documents to be released, additional witnesses to come forward, get new victims' rights legislation, and vowed to block a presidential pardon for Epstein's alleged co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.