Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer following the weekly Senate Democrat policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (Pete Kiehart/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"Given Trump's total about-face on releasing files and given what we know from the FBI whistleblowers, it's natural to ask, what happens if our adversaries use cyberattacks and other means to access files and materials into Epstein that are damaging or worse for President Trump and or those around him?" Schumer continued. "What happens if the Epstein files end up in the hands of Russia or North Korea, or Chinese governments? Unless the Epstein files are fully released to the public, could our adversaries use that, Epstein, to use that information to blackmail someone like the president?
Last Thursday, Schumer noted, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services were among several government agencies hacked as part of a breach to Microsoft SharePoint system.
"This was confirmed that it was Chinese actors. So we don't need this happening again," Schumer said. "We have to ensure that it can't happen. National security is not and should never be a partisan issue. We need to do everything we can to make sure we protecting the U.S. and American families. This report is vital in doing that. Beyond that, there is one more thing Donald Trump could do to quell people's anger, confusion, frustration, and/or deep fears. That is, release the files."
Last week, Johnson ended the House legislative session a day early, averting a potential vote on a resolution by Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., that would have compelled the Justice Department and the FBI to release the Epstein files. Johnson asserted on Sunday that House Republicans supported "maximum disclosure" but argued that the resolution was "reckless" and poorly drafted, arguing that it ignored federal rules protecting grand jury materials and "would require the DOJ and FBI to release information that they know is false, that is based on lies and rumors and was not even credible enough to be entered into the court proceedings."
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Donald Trump, during a bilateral meeting at the Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, on Monday, July 28, 2025. (Tolga Akmen/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"That's such old history. Very easy to explain, but I don't want to waste your time by explaining it. But for years, I wouldn't talk to Jeffrey Epstein. I wouldn't talk because he did something that was inappropriate," Trump told reporters. "He hired help, and I said, 'Don't ever do that again.' He stole people that worked for me. I said, 'Don't ever do that again.' He did it again, and I threw him out of the place, persona non grata. I threw him out and that was it."
Trump said he turned down an invitation to Epstein's notorious island in the Caribbean and claimed former President Bill Clinton and former Harvard University President Larry Summers had gone.
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"I never went to the island and Bill Clinton went there, supposedly 28 times. I never went to the island, but Larry Summers, I hear, went there. He was the head of Harvard and many other people that are very big people. Nobody ever talks about them," Trump said. "I never had the privilege of going to his island. And I did turn it down. But a lot of people in Palm Beach were invited to his island. In one of my very good moments, I turned it down."
Fox News' Tyler Olson contributed to this report.
Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on X: @danimwallace.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/schumer-calls-fbi-conduct-counterintelligence-threat-assessment-epstein-files