Vice President J.D. Vance Defends Trump on Epstein Files

On Tuesday, during an appearance on ABC’s “The View,” Vice President J.D. Vance spoke in defense of President Donald Trump’s management of the Epstein files.

Co-host Sunny Hostin brought up a New York Times report suggesting that Vance played a significant role in the release of the Epstein files. She expressed her approval and mentioned that Vance had discussions with senior officials, including those from the Justice Department, during a strategy session in the Situation Room. She referenced a recording from that meeting, noting it indicated potential issues for Trump’s supporters and mentioned a potential interview with Ghislaine Maxwell. Hostin asked why Vance’s efforts to protect Trump’s reputation seemed to be dismissed by the public.

Vance responded, “First of all, don’t trust everything you read in the newspapers, regardless of their political leanings. Some information might be accurate, some might be incorrect, and much can be out of context. I’ve got my own theories about the Epstein situation, and sure, people have labeled me as a conspiracy theorist in this context, which is, um, fine, I suppose. It’s unsettling to me that someone like Epstein—who is evidently a sex offender—was in circles with many influential people. That really troubles me.”

He went on to say, “What I take issue with is the belief that the White House hasn’t been fully open about these matters. I want to make clear that I was present when these decisions were made. The Epstein File Transparency Act, signed by the president, is what opened up access to these documents, and we are examining those emails. Again, I need to defend my boss here. I realize you might not be fond of this, but one finding in those emails shows that Jeffrey Epstein despised Donald Trump, and Trump even reported Epstein to the authorities—this is one of the revelations from the files.”