Senate Republicans block Democrats' new attempt to release Epstein files, calling it 'political theater'

Oklahoma Senator and deputy Senate Republican Caucus leader Markwayne Mullin on Thursday blocked a request by Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) to demand that the Donald Trump administration publish all records related to financial mogul and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. After quickly blocking Gallego's request, Mullin dismissed it as "nothing but political theater," adding that it became very obvious that Democrats are just using this as a "political football."

Likewise, Mullin explained that the sudden interest on the part of the Democrats in the release of all Epstein-related documents was hypocritical. "If they are serious about it, what happened the last four years?" The Republican senator asked, referring to former President Joe Biden's term in office, a period during which Democrats controlled the Justice Department and showed little willingness to disclose anything related to the Epstein case.

Similarly, the deputy leader of the Republican caucus in the Senate accused the Democrats of playing a "gotcha game" and assured that the party is "pretending to care" about the case for simple political calculation. A few minutes later, Mullin wrote on his X account, "I'm all for transparency w/ Epstein files. Those with legit questions, fine. But let's call THIS for what it is— pure theater from a party that hates Trump."

Gallego's words

Upon making the request, Gallego rose on the Senate floor to ask his colleagues to reveal "the truth" to all Americans. "If there is any evidence of a cover-up in the Epstein case, the public has a right to know. If there is a list, the public deserves to see it and Americans deserve to see the truth even if it’s not what Donald Trump and his elite friends want," declared the Democratic leader, who asked the Senate to proceed as soon as possible to pass a resolution demanding the release of files related to the sex offender, among which would include an alleged list of clients, the existence of which was denied by the Justice Department.

"I’m calling on my fellow senators to join me in demanding the Department of Justice release Epstein files to restore the public trust, affirm institutional accountability and to prevent the politicization of justice," Gallego added.