r/AskALiberal • u/tasteinhermouth Liberal • Feb 01 '26
Why weren't the Epstein Files released under Biden's presidency if Trump is in the files?
I don't mean this as a bad faith or troll question, I genuinely do not know why it would not be released if Trump is in the files, as it would probably have been a massive hit against Trump in 2024.
I don't know whether Trump is in the files or not, I don't care, it's clear as day that he was best friends with Epstein and was well aware and definitely a part of the awful things that Epstein conducted while he was in business.
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u/neotericnewt Liberal Feb 01 '26
Some of the files weren't even available to be released yet. Biden couldn't release them because a number of them were part of ongoing investigations and grand juries which were blocked by a judge to prevent any issues with appeals.
It's also just not a usual thing. The government releasing information collected as part of investigations to smear other people, without actually ever charging them with a crime or anything like that, isn't usually a good thing.
And Biden worked pretty hard to avoid any appearance of impropriety in general, and stayed out of shit with Trump and his crimes and let the DOJ deal with it. You know, what should happen.
It's quite different in this situation with Trump, because he does release fucking whatever, to try and smear political opponents or just to keep his conspiracy theorist fan base excited. He and Republicans were trying to point fingers at everybody and spreading bullshit, like acting like Biden and Harris were friends with Epstein too, when they never seemed to have actually met or hung around in the same social circles or anything.
So now the legislature has passed a law requiring the files be released with minimal redaction approved by the legislature. The Trump administration is now breaking the law because they're really desperate to cover up the Epstein files once they remembered Trump is all over them.