Newly-released emails from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate are stirring political tensions in D.C. Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin spoke with WTOP about the emails, fallout from the federal shutdown and the political stakes ahead.
The email messages, disclosed by the House Oversight Committee, suggest a closer relationship between Epstein and President Donald Trump than previously acknowledged — including one email in which Epstein wrote that Trump “knew about the girls,” though it remains unclear what he meant.
The White House has reiterated that the president did nothing wrong and has said his association with Epstein ended in the 2000s.
On Friday afternoon, Trump further escalated the controversy by directing the Justice Department to investigate several Democrats that he alleges had ties to Epstein, including former President Bill Clinton.
“They (the newly released emails) confirm what I think most Americans have suspected, which is that Donald Trump indeed knew what was going on with the girls … But in any event, what we’re looking for here is a complete release of the file,” Raskin said.
At the same time, lawmakers are dealing with the fallout from the 43-day government shutdown that ended this week, sending hundreds of thousands of federal workers back to their jobs.
Congress approved a short-term sending bill to keep the government open through the end of January, but the temporary deal leaves the possibility of another shutdown looming if no long-term agreement is reached.
Discussing the government shutdown, Raskin said lawmakers had been fighting to protect health care, federal workers and SNAP benefits.
“There was a trillion-dollar cut to Medicaid at the same time there was a trillion-dollar tax break given to the wealthiest people in the country … and we did not get everything we wanted. And we’re going to keep fighting to make sure that the health care of the people is addressed,” he said.
Raskin criticized a clause in the spending bill that provides a small group of senators with multi-million-dollar payouts related to grand jury subpoenas. He noted that the policy differs from how ordinary citizens are treated under the law.
“Let’s change public policy, but to say it’s completely fine for everybody else, but 100 U.S. senators have a right not to be investigated in that way … That’s just an outrage and a scandal,” he said.
Lastly, Raskin emphasized the need to counter partisan gerrymandering in Maryland. He spoke about similar efforts in other states and highlighted the impact on minority and LGBTQ representation.
“My point to Maryland, like to every other state, was we cannot allow this steam roller to go on without fighting back … I think Maryland, like Virginia, should be part of the process of countering this outrageous power grab,” Raskin said.
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