During Mr. Trump's first term, his labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, resigned following criticism of his handling of Epstein's 2008 plea deal when he was a federal prosecutor in Florida. Epstein served 13 months in a jail work-release program after he was originally accused of sexually abusing dozens of girls and young women.

Any time I say anything about Epstein, they’re like, ‘Why didn’t Joe Biden’s — why didn’t Joe Biden release the files?’ And this is what I say: Have you met Merrick Garland?” Tanden

A key House committee is looking into the investigation of the late Jeffrey Epstein for sex trafficking crimes.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on July 23, said that Donald Trump is pushing for the Epstein files to be declassified, while also wanting accountability for those who tried to keep the files under wraps.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will brief reporters Wednesday afternoon as the Trump administration wades through controversy around its handling of the probe into disgraced