Files related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein should be released, according to U.S. Sen. John Curtis, as long as there are some “guardrails.”
“I just feel like this is an exercise in transparency,” the Utah Republican told reporters following a Wednesday appearance at Utah Valley University. “There need to be some guardrails, making sure that we’re protecting some of the victims ... so let’s check that box, but let’s be transparent. And if there’s nothing there, let’s put it to bed.”
Curtis’s comments came as the fight over the Epstein files raged with renewed fervor, as House lawmakers returned to session following the longest government shutdown in U.S. history and as a petition to force a floor vote on the release of the files officially garnered the necessary 218 signatures.
On Wednesday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released a handful of emails from Epstein mentioning President Donald Trump, including one in which Epstein wrote of Trump, “of course he knew about the girls.” Republicans argued Democrats had cherry-picked emails and released thousands more in response.
Elected officials, Curtis said Wednesday, “don’t get the luxury of a private life.”
“It’s just the deal, and the best remedy is transparency,” the senator said. “If there’s something that’s a flaw in our lives going back, the best thing we can do is be transparent about it.”
And although the petition to release the files has the support of the majority of House Republicans, and Speaker Mike Johnson has said he would hold a floor vote to do so, Curtis said he thinks the actual disclosure seems unlikely. He noted that the legislation would have to meet the Senate’s 60-vote threshold and, vitally, would then need Trump’s signature.
During his campaign, Trump promised to release the Epstein files, but later reversed course. On Wednesday, he claimed emails from Epstein naming him were a “hoax,” while White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called them a “clear distraction.”
Curtis was joined by Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat, for Wednesday’s panel, which they called “Modeling Civility.”
Following the event, Kelly said the Epstein emails released Wednesday by House Democrats naming Trump were “more evidence that what the president has said about this is not entirely accurate.”
Despite the president’s previous promises to release the files, Kelly said, referring to the Epstein emails mentioning Trump, “It’s obvious that they’re not doing it because of what happened today. That information was probably in the hands of the Justice Department for a long time.”
‘A reflection of who we are as a country’
During the panel, Curtis and Kelly were asked about Trump’s extensive history of violent and divisive rhetoric.
“I think the president uses just about every opportunity he can to drive that wedge between Americans, between Democrats and Republicans, and it’s not healthy,” Kelly said. “He’s the president of the United States. People listen to him. They act on his words more than anybody else in our country. Donald Trump’s words matter.”
Asked for his thoughts on Trump’s rhetoric, Curtis said he speaks out against the president when something Trump says violates “Utah standards,” but argued that the president is a reflection of the state of the country, and that should be cause for reflection.
“Within a few percentage points during the last three presidential elections, half the country said yes to that man, right?” Curtis said. “So I do think that this is more a reflection of who we are as a country than we are willing, sometimes, to admit.”