New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has slammed President Donald Trump over the joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, accusing him of “risking world war” to distract from the ongoing Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
Trump launched the assault in the Middle East at the weekend but is already facing backlash in the U.S., having campaigned on a platform of ‘no more wars’.
“He impulsively went in on Venezuela. He impulsively went in on Iran. There was no exit and no endgame for either of these situations. It led to increased global instability everywhere he goes,” AOC told MeidasTouch in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.
“And every time he’s done that, it has been consistent with a spike or a revelation in what is happening with the Epstein files. I don’t think that that coincidence is something to dismiss off the cuff. I think that he feels existentially tied to it.”
She continued: “And I actually think that it is one reason that he must be removed from office, because… if the Epstein files have such a hold on President Trump and this administration that they are willing to plunge us and risk world war in order to save themselves politically, that is… the definition of someone that cannot make objective decisions for the American people.”
Trump has not been formally accused of any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. But, he has faced persistent questions about their past friendship, with the pair having known each other in the 1990s and early 2000s until, according to the president, they had a bitter falling out.
His administration has been criticized over the Department of Justice’s handling of the release of its investigative materials on the deceased pedophile in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was passed by Congress in November.
Survivors of Epstein’s sexual abuse have complained about the redactions made to the files and the chaotic nature of their publication in three tranches across late December and January.
Ocasio-Cortez is not the first lawmaker to accuse the president of launching a fresh conflict in the Middle East to distract from Epstein.
Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who spearheaded the passage of the Act last year, posted on X Sunday afternoon: “PSA: Bombing a country on the other side of the globe won’t make the Epstein files go away, any more than the Dow going above 50,000 will.”
Prior to that, former GOP congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who fell out with Trump last year, issued a lengthy attack on him Saturday in a similar vein.
“For years we demanded to release the Epstein files, demanding transparency and justice for thousands of victims, women and children, by the richest most powerful men in the world and we had to fight Trump himself to do it, even after we all campaigned on it,” she said.
“And not a single person has been arrested and likely won’t be, no accountability, no justice. Instead, we get a war with Iran on behalf of Israel that will succeed in regime change in Iran. Another foreign war for foreign people for foreign regime change. For what?”
That evening, on Saturday Night Live, James Austin Johnson, parodying the president’s Truth Social video in which he first announced Operation Epic Fury, declared: “War, what is it good for? Distracting from the Epstein files!”
Meanwhile, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee, which last week heard six hours of closed-door testimony from Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton, has announced that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has agreed to appear voluntarily before its members. Lutnick has denied any wrongdoing and has never been accused of a crime associated with Epstein.
Attorney General Pam Bondi has also been subpoenaed, to testify about the rollout of the 3.5 million files by the DOJ and the decision making behind it.
New York leads more than 20 states suing Trump over new across-the-board tariffs
Zelensky: Trump using up all his missiles on Iran risks leaving Ukraine short
Iowa governor believes in US war with Iran despite 'sacrifice' by state soldiers who died
Starmer to send British fighter jets to Middle East as fighting spreads across region
Fox News poll says 57% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s presidency
Kristi Noem battered over $143M in no-bid contracts to operative-tied business
