Republican sponsor of Epstein bill hits back after Trump complains of 'Democrat hoax'

The cloud of controversy from Jeffrey Epstein and the push to release investigative files about the convicted sex offender continued to hang over the Trump White House on Sunday, with sharp comments from Republican US Representative Thomas Massie.

Mr Massie and Democratic Representative Ro Khanna both appeared on ABC's This Week to defend and continue to push their bipartisan legislation that would require the US Department of Justice release all of its unclassified Epstein records.

Their appearance on the show also comes days after Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson implied that President Donald Trump, who is widely speculated to be mentioned in the Epstein files, might have been an FBI informant.

Those comments came under widespread criticism.

"I don't know if the Speaker misspoke when he said that Donald Trump was an informant. The lawyers for the victims said that Donald Trump had been helpful in 2009 in their case by giving them information, but being an informant implies some formal connection and ongoing relationship with the FBI, I don't know what that's all about," said Mr Massie, who suggest that Mr Johnson might want to clarify his comments.

Mr Massie has come under sharp criticism from Mr Trump and some in Republican circles for pushing legislation that could result in releasing the much-discussed Epstein files.

On Friday, Mr Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to take shots at all the media coverage surrounding the Epstein files.

"This is merely another Democrat hoax," he wrote in part.

"The Department of Justice has done its job, they have given everything requested of them."

On Sunday, Mr Massie hit back.

"If it's a hoax, then why was Donald Trump an informant to a hoax?"

Mr Epstein was arrested in 2019 on charges of solicitation of prostitution, among other allegations.

The disgraced financier died in prison awaiting trial in 2019. His death fuelled conspiracy theories, particularly among the Maga movement, that Epstein was murdered to conceal the wealthy and powerful friends implicated in his crimes.

Also on ABC's This Week, Mr Khanna dismissed the accusations that the legislative effort to release files related to the investigation into Mr Epstein were simply efforts to score political points against Mr Trump.

"Many of the Epstein survivors pleaded with him (to release the files,)" Mr Khanna said.

"He could be the President that says 'Look, I'm the first president releasing these files,'" Mr Khanna said, adding that he was surprised that Mr Trump has been so defensive about their legislative push.

Mr Massie said that he believes Mr Trump is resisting the release of more Epstein files because it could be embarrassing to some of the "billionaires and donors connected to his campaign", adding that he believed some democratic donors might also be implicated.

"When you get to the billionaire level, a lot of these folks give to both parties anyway, and there are probably intelligence ties to our CIA and foreign intelligence," he added.

"The American people might be shocked to know that our intelligence agency was working with a paedophile running a sex trafficking ring," Mr Massie said.

Although some polling has suggested that interest in the Epstein files has waned, a new effort in recent weeks from victims of the deceased and disgraced financier has piqued interest and gained momentum.

Mr Trump has not yet responded on Sunday to Mr Massie and Mr Khanna's appearance on This Week.

He is currently expected to attend the US Open to watch Italy's Jannik Sinner take on Spain's Carlos Alcaraz later in the day.

The United States Tennis Association has asked US Open broadcasters to censor any reaction or protest to Mr Trump during his appearance, according to reports.