Minutes after U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene stood behind victims of Jeffrey Epstein as they shared their stories of abuse, she caught wind of what President Donald Trump had to say.
“This is a Democrat hoax that never ends,” Trump told reporters, saying it was an effort to deflect attention away from his work as the nation’s leader since taking office in January.
Before Wednesday morning’s news conference, Greene spoke with Trump and encouraged him to meet with the victims to hear their stories.
His comments afterward, the Georgia congresswoman said, were the wrong way to talk about what she considers a legitimate effort to get justice for women who were abused as teenage girls.
“They said, ‘We are not a hoax,’” Greene, R-Rome, recalled. “They said, “We are human beings, and we were raped and we were sexually assaulted, and we’re victims of Jeffrey Epstein and other people.’”
Greene is one of four Republicans who have joined an effort to force a vote on the House floor to release files related to the investigation of Epstein, who authorities say killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019 while serving time after being convicted of sex trafficking.
The legislation is sponsored by U.S. Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and they currently have 206 of the 218 signatures needed on a discharge petition to call a vote. If all 212 Democrats sign on, they would also need two more Republicans to be successful.
All five Georgia Democrats have signed the petition.
Greene said she believes Trump is receiving bad advice from White House aides who are more interested in pressuring Republicans to oppose the petition than they are about getting to the truth about the abuse.
To date, the only individuals found guilty of wrongdoing were Epstein and partner Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of aiding him and participating in some assaults.
Trump was elected in part, Greene said, to take down what conservatives called the “deep state,” shadowy individuals who were able to operate and violate laws with impunity. The Make America Great Movement coalesced, in part, around the belief Trump in office would expose the truth and eradicate corruption.
“That’s what MAGA has always been very much about, and that needs to be continued,” she said Wednesday. “It’s not a hoax.”
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