Donald Trump goes on bizarre Epstein rant - then congratulates himself on 'legendary' job

Donald Trump has again described calls for the release of all Epstein files as a "Democrat HOAX" in a bizarre rant on social media. Taking to his Truth Social platform, the US President suggested demands for the complete disclosure of government files on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein are only because "Radical Left Democrats" are "doing so poorly".

He claimed the "Democrat Hoax" is "just like Russia, Russia, Russia" to take away from his own "great success" in the White House. He went on to heap more praise on himself and his party, claiming they are doing a "legendary" job. In the lengthy 264-word post, he claimed the "badly failing" Democrats "did nothing about Jeffrey Epstein while he was alive except befriend him, socialize with him, travel to his Island, and take his money!"

Mr Trump, who was a onetime friend of the disgraced financier, claimed the Democrats "knew everything there was to know about Epstein" and are only now "seeming to show such love and heartfelt concern for his victims".

In the post, he continued: "Does anybody really believe that? Where were they during his very public trials, and for all of those years before his death? The answer is, "nowhere to be found."

"The now dying (after the DOJ gave thousands of pages of documents in full compliance with a very comprehensive and exacting Subpoena from Congress!) Epstein case was only brought back to life by the Radical Left Democrats because they are doing so poorly, with the lowest poll numbers in the history of the Party (16%), while the Republicans are doing so well, among the highest approval numbers the Party has ever had!

"The Dems don't care about the victims, as proven by the fact that they never did before.

"This is merely another Democrat HOAX, just like Russia, Russia, Russia, and all of the others, in order to deflect and distract from the great success of a Republican President, and the record setting failure of the previous Administration, and the Democrat Party.

"The Department of Justice has done its job, they have given everything requested of them. It's time to end the Democrat Epstein Hoax, and give the Republicans credit for the great, even legendary, job that they are doing."

He finished the post by saying: "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!"

On Wednesday, survivors of Epstein gathered on Capitol Hill in Washington DC to call on lawmakers to release more files.

It came after the House of Representatives Oversight Committee a day earlier publicly posted the files it has received from the Justice Department on the sex trafficking investigations into Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, responding to mounting pressure in Congress to force more disclosure in the case.

The files mostly contained information that was already publicly known or available.

Lawmakers are battling over how Congress should delve into the Epstein saga while Mr Trump, after initially signaling support for transparency on the campaign trail, has been dismissing the matter as a "Democrat hoax."

On Wednesday, he said: "No matter what you do it's going to keep going."

"Really, I think it's enough," he added.

Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial in 2019 on charges that said he sexually abused and trafficked dozens of underage girls.