The Pressure on Trump Will Continue
Published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
(Germany) on 17 November 2025
by Majid Sattar (link to
original)
Trump keeps passing the buck on the Epstein scandal. He is demanding that the Republicans act and hoping for relief.
In some ways, the case of Jeffrey Epstein now is reminiscent of the Russian affair from Donald Trump’s first term in office. Hardly a day goes by without a new twist in the scandal about the sexual offender whose death in 2019 prevented a trial that would have shaken the U.S., given the long list of influential men to whom Epstein had offered up girls for sexual exploitation. As then with the “Russia, Russia” accusations, Trump has accused the Democrats of using the “witch hunt” to keep him from being a successful president.
A Big Hoax?
Regarding his own relationship to the billionaire, he calls it a big “hoax.” However, the Epstein affair is very different from the thorough investigation of his contacts in Moscow back then. It was, after all, Trump himself who encouraged his movement with references to the client list.
Unlike in the Russia affair, he no longer controls the dynamics in his own party. That explains his most recent about-face to now call for the Republicans to vote for a bill that, in turn, calls for him to release the files from the investigation. He thus wants to release some pressure from the cooker and is apparently hoping that the initiative dies in the Senate. As a matter of fact, he is thus just passing the buck to the second chamber of Congress. Public pressure will continue*.
*Editor's note: Pres. Trump signed the bill to release the Epstein files on Nov. 19. The Department of Justice is required to release the files within 30 days of its passage.
In some ways, the case of Jeffrey Epstein now is reminiscent of the Russian affair from Donald Trump’s first term in office. Hardly a day goes by without a new twist in the scandal about the sexual offender whose death in 2019 prevented a trial that would have shaken the U.S., given the long list of influential men to whom Epstein had offered up girls for sexual exploitation. As then with the “Russia, Russia” accusations, Trump has accused the Democrats of using the “witch hunt” to keep him from being a successful president.
A Big Hoax?
Regarding his own relationship to the billionaire, he calls it a big “hoax.” However, the Epstein affair is very different from the thorough investigation of his contacts in Moscow back then. It was, after all, Trump himself who encouraged his movement with references to the client list.
Unlike in the Russia affair, he no longer controls the dynamics in his own party. That explains his most recent about-face to now call for the Republicans to vote for a bill that, in turn, calls for him to release the files from the investigation. He thus wants to release some pressure from the cooker and is apparently hoping that the initiative dies in the Senate. As a matter of fact, he is thus just passing the buck to the second chamber of Congress. Public pressure will continue*.
*Editor's note: Pres. Trump signed the bill to release the Epstein files on Nov. 19. The Department of Justice is required to release the files within 30 days of its passage.
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