PORTLAND, USA, Nov 19 2025 (IPS) - With the longest shutdown of the U.S. government now over, the White House, Congress, the media, and the public have shifted their attention to the contentious and highly political issue of releasing the files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

The White House’s resistance to releasing Epstein-related documents brings to mind the famous line from Shakespeare’s Hamlet that the U.S. president “doth protest too much, methinks.”

For many, the president’s continued denials of any wrongdoing suggest the opposite is true.

According to a Marist poll conducted in October, 77% of the U.S. public support the release of all files relating to Jeffrey Epstein. Another 13% want some of the Epstein files released, while only 9% don’t want any documents released (Figure 1).

Source: Marist poll.

According to other polls, a majority of the U.S. public, 67%, believe that the government is covering up evidence and 61% think the Epstein files contain embarrassing information about the president (Figure 2).

Source: Polls of The Economist/YouGov, the Washington Post, and University of Amherst.

A similar percentage, 63%, believe the president is hiding important information, while 61% disapprove of the president’s handling of the Epstein files. Additionally, 53% believe the files are sealed because the president is named in them.

Much of the country’s population believes that the president does not want the Epstein files released because the information contained within is criminal or embarrassing. In a national poll conducted in July, a majority of the U.S. public, 61%, thought that the Epstein files contain embarrassing information about the president.

Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans in Congress are pushing for the release of all Epstein files and actively working towards a Congressional vote to make it happen.

Furthermore, a bipartisan group of Congressional lawmakers believes that releasing the Epstein files is a moral imperative that will help bring justice to more than a thousand victims and prioritize truth over political convenience. In addition, a group of Epstein’s victims are featured in a new ad calling on Congress to pass the pending legislation.

In addition to acknowledging its widespread support among the U.S. public, the president’s reversal also seems to recognize that supporters of the measure to release the Epstein files have enough votes to pass it in the House. However, the president never truly needed the approval of Congress, as he has the power to release the files himself

Recent news reports indicate that the White House is now in panic mode. In addition to criticizing Democrats who are pushing for a Congressional vote, the president has spoken out strongly against Republican lawmakers who support the release of the Epstein files.

Further complicating matters are the newly released documents from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate that contain several messages referencing the U.S. president. Additionally, a review by the Wall Street Journal found that the U.S. president was mentioned in more than 1,600 of the 2,324 email threads.

Despite this, the president continues to object to the release of the Epstein files, claiming it is a Democrat-manufactured hoax. He further asserts that there is nothing in the Epstein files that would incriminate him. The president’s supporters argue that the issue is merely a fake narrative intended to smear and slander him.

The Epstein files refer to the extensive collection of documents related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the pedophile ring that victimized hundreds of children.

On August 10, 2019, prison guards claimed that Epstein had apparently committed suicide in his prison cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Initially expressing suspicion about the suicide, the country’s attorney general described Epstein’s death as “a perfect storm of screw-ups,” Subsequently, Epstein’s death unleashed conspiracy theories online suggesting that he was killed to prevent him from incriminating others.

For example, in 2011, Epstein wrote the following to Ghislaine Maxwell, his associate and aide: “I want you to realize that the dog that hasn’t barked is trump … (victim) spent hours at my house with him.” In 2018, Epstein further wrote, “I am the one able to take him down and you see, I know how dirty donald is”.

The president’s name also appeared in Epstein’s correspondence, indicating that he was aware of Epstein’s activities. Despite previously praising Epstein as a “terrific guy”, the president now claims that they barely knew each other.

National polling data from mid-2025 shows that nearly half of the U.S. public, about 46%, believed the president was involved in Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes.

A growing number of the U.S. population support the release of the Epstein files to ensure all information is available, allowing the innocent to go free, and ensuring the guilty face judgment.

After months of attempting to delay or prevent a vote and a discharge petition by Democrats, joined by four Republicans, the House of Representatives reached the 218-signature threshold. On 18 November, the House voted on legislation to compel the Department of Justice to release all its case files tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

After the legislation passed 427 to1 in the House, the Senate considered mandating the release of the files. Similar to the House, the Senate decided to pass the bill by unanimous consent without any objections raised. The legislation is now on track to reach the president’s desk for his signature, despite his previous attempts to kill it.

Recently, the president made an unexpected and stark reversal from his previous position of opposing the release of the Epstein files. The president called on House Republicans to support a proposal to release files connected to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, stating that “we have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax”.

In addition to acknowledging its widespread support among the U.S. public, the president’s reversal also seems to recognize that supporters of the measure to release the Epstein files have enough votes to pass it in the House. However, the president never truly needed the approval of Congress, as he has the power to release the files himself.

Furthermore, the president’s reversal allows him to claim support for transparency. It is also seen as a strategic move that shifts the responsibility onto Congress, limits politically damaging defections by Republican lawmakers, and avoids a likely political setback.

This move also has the potential to use the ongoing investigation as a way for the administration to control the timing and extent of future document releases, especially those concerning the president’s ties to the sex offender. The situation is further complicated by the president’s call for the U.S. Attorney General to investigate several Democrats, with these investigations serving as a justification for withholding the files.

With both the Senate and the House having passed bills for the release of the files, the legislation is now being sent to the president for his approval or veto. However, it is unclear when the files could be released and whether they would satisfy those advocating for the complete release of the Epstein files.

In a significant change to his political strategy, the president recently announced that he would sign the Epstein files bill if Congress passed it. However, as he has done in the recent past, the president could change his mind upon reviewing the legislation and decide to veto it.

At this point, it seems unlikely that the president will veto the legislation as Congress has the power to override his veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

If all the files related to Jeffrey Epstein are released, the information they contain has the potential to trigger the largest scandal in the history of the United States presidency. Such a scandal could compel the president to say something similar to the line from Hamlet: “Adieu, adieu, adieu. Remember me.”

Joseph Chamie is a consulting demographer, a former director of the United Nations Population Division, and author of many publications.