{"id":228625,"date":"2026-10-25T01:50:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T01:50:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/epstein-files-take-back-seat-in-midterms-but-experts-say-issue-has-not-gone-away-the-guardian\/"},"modified":"2026-10-25T01:50:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T01:50:09","slug":"epstein-files-take-back-seat-in-midterms-but-experts-say-issue-has-not-gone-away-the-guardian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/epstein-files-take-back-seat-in-midterms-but-experts-say-issue-has-not-gone-away-the-guardian\/","title":{"rendered":"Epstein files take back seat in midterms but experts say issue has not gone away – The Guardian"},"content":{"rendered":"

Other voter concerns have prevailed but return of Congress likely to see renewed focus on late sex offender\u2019s activities
As US voters head to the polls for crucial and fraught midterm elections, some survivors\u2019 advocates in the Jeffrey Epstein<\/a> investigation have expressed concern that the scandal could recede into the background.
Political experts believe, however, the Epstein issue is not going away permanently and that many voters can balance day-to-day concerns such as affordability and AI with the scandal involving the late financier and accused sex trafficker whose social circle was widespread among America\u2019s elite.
\u201cMy greatest concern is not that the public will forget Jeffrey Epstein, but that the politicians and institutions responsible for accountability will use the chaos of world events as an excuse to move on,\u201d said Spencer Kuvin of Goldlaw, who has represented multiple Epstein survivors.
Kuvin added: \u201cWars, economic crises and political controversies may dominate the headlines, but they do not erase the suffering of the victims or the unanswered questions about how Epstein and his powerful associates were allowed to operate for decades.
\u201cJustice should not have an expiration date, and it certainly should not be dictated by the news cycle. We cannot allow the Epstein scandal to become yesterday\u2019s news simply because today\u2019s headlines are more urgent.\u201d
Kuvin called for the US government to continue releasing Epstein files \u2013 which many have said were excluded from allegedly incomplete disclosures \u2013 and for Congress to demand accountability.
\u201cIt has been disappointing to have seen attention diverted from Jeffrey Epstein in the past year,\u201d said Jennifer Freeman of Marsh Law, who represents numerous Epstein survivors in litigation surrounding his sexual abuse of teenage girls.
Freeman, however, expressed optimism about the long-term prospects of justice for survivors, saying: \u201cWhile public attention may have shifted from the Epstein case, given the electoral cycle, I am confident it will command concentration and accountability shortly again.\u201d
Freeman noted that she was continuing to pursue a lawsuit against the US government for alleged negligence \u201cin repeatedly, for decades, dropping the ball on investigating and prosecuting Epstein\u201d. She is also litigating a class-action lawsuit against his estate related to his collection and production of child sex abuse images.
Political experts said that Epstein might get less attention from campaigning politicians and voters, but that it was probably a temporary dip, not a permanent drop-off.
\u201cIt really does feel like everything is on fire. I think people can care about several things at once, but what\u2019s directly affecting their lives tends to take priority,\u201d Brittany Martinez, a Republican strategist who works as acting director of Principles First, said. \u201cWhen they\u2019re worried about gas prices, living costs and whether their government is working for them, that can push Epstein out of the immediate conversation.
\u201cI don\u2019t think the questions or the demand for answers have gone away; they\u2019re just competing for attention. So I\u2019d expect to hear less about it for stretches, rather than see it disappear altogether.\u201d
\u201cThere\u2019s just something every day with Trump,\u201d said Shawn Donahue, clinical associate professor in the University at Buffalo\u2019s department of political science.
For Donahue, timing also plays a key role. The US Congress has been in recess and without members on the House floor, so there\u2019s not any discussion of the Epstein Files Transparency Act\u2019s proposed new iteration. This bill, the Epstein Files Transparency Act II<\/a>, seeks to address what advocates have said are shortfalls in the present EFTA \u2013 such as an absence of enforcement mechanisms.
\u201cIt kind of feels like whenever Congress comes back into session, this probably starts to become more of an issue again, and especially if Democrats are looking at being in control of one or maybe both chambers of Congress,\u201d Donahue said.
Should Democrats win the house, as polls project, Donahue expects they will swiftly \u201cput Republicans on the spot\u201d with Epstein. \u201cDemocrats are ready to start on the investigation from day one.\u201d
For Julie Roginsky, who co-founded the non-profit Lift Our Voices<\/a> and pursued a sexual harassment lawsuit against the former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes, the significance of Epstein among voters has not gone away.
\u201cI think Epstein is part of the reason that Trump\u2019s numbers are at record lows<\/a>. I think it\u2019s something that was one of the issues where even Maga Republicans broke with him,\u201d Roginsky said. \u201cI think that if Democrats do get control of at least one house of Congress this year, then starting next year, you\u2019re going to see a lot more conversation about survivors and about Epstein.\u201d
Congressional supporters of survivors said they would keep fighting for truth and justice.
\u201cThis is bigger than a moment. It\u2019s a reckoning, and Americans are ready to have this conversation about power, abuse, and who gets protected,\u201d the Democratic New Mexico representative Teresa Leger Fern\u00e1ndez said in a statement. \u201cOf course, Americans will vote with their pocketbooks. They\u2019re worried about groceries, gas, and making rent. But they won\u2019t forget that this president was Epstein\u2019s friend and tried to hide the truth from them.
\u201cThe survivors have fought for decades to be heard. Our responsibility is to keep fighting alongside them, get the truth out, and hold those responsible accountable. That responsibility doesn\u2019t disappear when the headlines change.\u201d
The Massachusetts Democratic representative Ayanna Pressley said in a statement: \u201cJustice for survivors of Epstein\u2019s abuse has been a prominent issue amongst the electorate because people of conscience see through the cover-ups of the Trump Administration and demand accountability \u2013 that won\u2019t change no matter how much they try to flood the zone and distract us.\u201d
Pressley and fellow representatives Leger Fern\u00e1ndez and Deborah Ross recently introduced legislation<\/a> to address survivors\u2019 financial burdens.
The New Mexico Democratic senator Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n similarly commented that whatever might be unfolding, he would keep pushing for the files to be released in full despite the Department of Justice insisting they have released all Epstein investigative files required under the law.
\u201cWe cannot lose sight of the need to release the full Epstein files, hold those responsible accountable, and ensure survivors receive the justice they deserve,\u201d Luj\u00e1n said.
Asked for comment, the White House insisted Trump had advocated for survivors.
\u201cJust as President Trump has said, he\u2019s been totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein. And by releasing thousands of pages of documents, cooperating with the House Oversight Committee\u2019s subpoena request, signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act, and calling for more investigations into Epstein\u2019s Democrat friends, President Trump has done more for Epstein\u2019s victims than anyone before him,\u201d the White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said in a statement.
The statement then claimed that several Democrats had yet to explain why they were soliciting money and meetings from Epstein after he was a convicted sex offender.
As for the Department of Justice, the department maintains they have complied with disclosure requirements under the original EFTA. They also rejected claims<\/a> by New Mexico\u2019s attorney general, Ra\u00fal Torrez, that the justice department had not been helping the state\u2019s investigation.
\u201c<\/strong>The Epstein Files Transparency Act does not require, and the protective orders in place in the Southern District of New York do not permit, disclosure of victim-identifying information carte blanche, and New Mexico has provided no lawful basis to justify such sweeping disclosures,\u201d the department said in a statement. \u201cProtecting victim privacy remains a top priority for the Department, and neither [legal] requests nor a desire to cooperate outweighs that privacy. DOJ remains available to assist New Mexico\u2019s investigation consistent with the law and binding court orders.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Other voter concerns have prevailed but return of Congress likely to see renewed focus on late sex offender\u2019s activitiesAs US voters head to the polls for crucial and fraught midterm elections, some survivors\u2019 advocates in the Jeffrey Epstein investigation have expressed concern that the scandal could recede into the background.Political experts believe, however, the Epstein […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":228626,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-228625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/228626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=228625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=228625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}