Donald Trumpsigned an executive order last week to declassify documents related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and now some Republican senators want more.
Trump, these GOP senators say, should also declassify documents related to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, a financier whom the president described as a “terrific guy” in a 2002 interview with New York magazine.
Although Trump hinted in September he would release the Epstein files if elected, he didn’t include them in his executive order on the JFK, RFK and MLK files.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told the Bulwark that he’d like to see the files, and doesn’t know why Trump hasn’t released them yet.
“If I talk to him, I’ll ask him, but I’d like to see them. I’ll be the first in line [to read them],” said Kennedy, who isn’t related to the assassinated president and senator.
Some have postulated that Trump didn’t call for the release of the Epstein files because he might be mentioned in them.
Epstein and Trump used to party together, although the president distanced himself from the ex-banker after Epstein’s 2019 arrest on charges of sex trafficking underage girls and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking.
Epstein was found dead in his cell in August of that year, while awaiting trial. His death was ruled a suicide.
Kennedy said he’d like to see the files even if Trump is mentioned in them.
“I don’t care if he’s named in them. The American people are entitled to know the truth. The man’s dead as Jimmy Hoffa ― he’s gone ― and his sidekick’s in jail,” Kennedy said, referring to Ghislaine Maxwell. “We’re entitled to know what he did, who he did it with and whether he broke any laws.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) also told the Bulwark that Trump should “absolutely” release the documents “and also the P. Diddy files.” He added, “We deserve to know who is implicated in abusing children.”
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Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) agreed about releasing any Epstein documents but took time to ponder the Trump what-ifs.
“I think they should be released,” he told the Bulwark eventually.
Experts interviewed by NPR say big reveals are unlikely in the proposed drop of declassified documents on the assassinations.