Vice President J.D. Vance insisted Monday that President Donald Trump “has nothing to hide” regarding Jeffrey Epstein.
He criticized the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations for failing to fully investigate the Epstein case.
“The president has been very clear. We’re not shielding anything,” Vance told reporters in Canton, Ohio, at an event promoting the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Vance said Trump directed the attorney general to release all credible information on Epstein and to find additional credible material.
“He’s been incredibly transparent about that stuff. But some of that stuff takes time,” Vance said.
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Vance emphasized protecting victims’ identities amid any new disclosures.
Epstein died by suicide in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
Before entering politics, Vance claimed the government lacked transparency about Epstein and his network, per the New York Post.
“For 20 years, you had Obama and George W. Bush’s Department of Justice go easy on this guy. They didn’t fully investigate the case,” Vance said. “They didn’t show any curiosity about the case, and now Donald J. Trump is asking his Department of Justice to show full transparency.”
“If you want to criticize the people who aren’t showing full transparency, you ought to go after the administrations that went easy on Jeffrey Epstein, the administrations that concealed this case for 20 years, and the administrations that failed to show full transparency,” Vance added.
In 2007, then-Miami U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta cut a deal with Epstein, allowing him to plead guilty to Florida state charges of solicitation of prostitution and procuring a minor. Epstein served 13 months with work release.
Acosta was named Trump’s labor secretary but resigned in July 2019 amid outrage over the plea deal following Epstein’s federal arrest.
“Donald J. Trump, I’m telling you, he’s got nothing to hide. His administration has got nothing to hide, and that’s why he’s been an advocate for full transparency in this case,” Vance said.
Trump has faced criticism after a July 6 Justice Department memo concluded Epstein killed himself and did not possess a “client list” of powerful associates alleged to have abused underage girls. Trump called the allegations a “Jeffrey Epstein hoax” and accused Democrats of pushing false claims.
Last week, a Florida federal judge denied a DOJ request to release transcripts of grand jury testimony from the investigation preceding Epstein’s 2007 plea deal.
Meanwhile, Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell was interviewed for two days by Justice Department officials in Tallahassee, led by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
