Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance stated on Wednesday that President Donald Trump “may not outlast” the ongoing scandal involving convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the related investigative files, six years after Epstein’s death in jail.
Newsweek contacted a legal analyst via X on Wednesday night for further comment.
Why It Matters
The release of new emails from Epstein’s estate has reignited controversy over Trump’s past connections to the convicted sex offender. As House Democrats and some Republicans push for full transparency, the potential release of thousands of pages of government files has increased public and political scrutiny.
Legal analysts and congressional representatives are questioning whether these developments could have significant consequences for Trump’s political standing, public perception, and institutional accountability.
What To Know
In a post on her Substack Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance, the former prosecutor said, “nothing that’s in the Epstein emails is a surprise,” as it relates to the president.
The newly released emails include Epstein referring to Trump as “the dog that hasn’t barked,” recounting that Trump allegedly spent time at Epstein’s home with an unnamed victim, and stating that Trump requested Epstein resign from his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, after learning of misconduct allegations.
The victim is widely believed by House Republicans to be Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who died earlier this year by suicide.
“Given everything we know about Donald Trump, everything he himself has said about girls and women, it’s hard to envision what innocent behavior he would have been engaged in for ‘hours’ spent with a victim of abuse at the scene of the crime—Epstein’s home, where sexual abuse was rampant,” Vance wrote.
She added, “As bad as the emails released today are, there is more. The FBI’s investigative files have not been released. The Trump White House is still doing everything it can to prevent their release. People like [FBI Director] Kash Patel, who called for their release, and Donald Trump, who promised it during the campaign, have gone mum. Draw your own conclusion.”
“Trump has survived other moments like this, where he turned his glaring racism and misogyny into bonus points with his base. But he may not outlast the Epstein Files controversy,” Vance concluded.
The House will soon vote on whether to publicly release the full set of Epstein-related government records. A petition to compel a vote surpassed the required 218-signature threshold with the swearing-in of U.S. Representative Adelita Grijalva of Arizona on Wednesday.
The bipartisan effort is led by Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California and Republican Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who argue that full transparency is necessary to address lingering public mistrust stemming from the Epstein case.
What People Are Saying
On Truth Social Wednesday, Trump wrote: “The Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they’ll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown, and so many other subjects. Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap. The Democrats cost our Country $1.5 Trillion Dollars with their recent antics of viciously closing our Country, while at the same time putting many at risk — and they should pay a fair price. There should be no deflections to Epstein or anything else, and any Republicans involved should be focused only on opening up our Country, and fixing the massive damage caused by the Democrats!”
In a second post, Trump added, “In other words, the Democrats are using the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax to try and deflect from their massive failures, in particular, their most recent one — THE SHUTDOWN!”
House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia, a California Democrat, said: “The more Donald Trump tries to cover up the Epstein files, the more we uncover. These latest emails and correspondence raise glaring questions about what else the White House is hiding and the nature of the relationship between Epstein and the President.”
What Happens Next
Defying party leadership, Republican Representative Thomas Massie has gathered signatures on a petition to force a vote for the release of the Justice Department’s investigative files on Epstein.
