JD Vance Defends Donald Trump’s Handling of Epstein Files

Vice President JD Vance he is trying to reassure the American public who are always suspicious that the President Donald Trump doesn’t hide anything when it comes to the highly publicized Jeffrey Epstein files.

“What I don’t agree with is the idea that the White House was not committed to transparency. We have to remember that I was in the room when some of these decisions were made,” said Vance, 41, on Tuesday, June 16, episode Watching. “One of the things you see in the Epstein emails is that Jeffrey Epstein hated Donald Trump and that Donald Trump actually reported Jeffrey Epstein to the police. This is one of the things that comes out of these files.”

In November 2025, Trump, 80, signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law after it was passed by Congress. It required the Department of Justice (DOJ) to publicly release all declassified records, investigative materials, flight logs and communications related to the investigation and prosecution of Epstein, who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

When Watching the hostel Anna Navarro backtracked and said that Trump and Epstein were best friends for nearly a decade, Vance shared his opinion.

“He knew Jeffrey Epstein back in the 1980s. He also kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of his club when he found out he was a thug and reported him to the police,” said Vance. “That’s something the media often miss when reporting on this issue.”

The vice president also denied allegations that Trump signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act because he was pressured by some powerful members of the Republican party.

“The idea that Donald Trump is running in fear of Republicans and vice versa is crazy,” Vance said. “You can believe everything you read in any newspaper, whether it is a tabloid or a left-leaning paper, there are things that are true, there are things that are false and there are things that are not at all.”

Watching‘s Sunny Hostin asked why nearly 2.5 million documents or files have yet to be made public.

According to Vance, some of the delays are due to the court system, while others are simply copies of originals.

“My understanding is that most of them are duplicates that have already been released,” he added. “We hold nothing back.”

Epstein was arrested in July 2019 on sex trafficking and child trafficking conspiracy charges. He pleaded not guilty before his death one month later.

The commander-in-chief has repeatedly denied any knowledge of the disgraced billionaire’s crimes, saying he had a falling out with Epstein more than two decades ago after the controversial figure “stolen” young female employees at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

At the time of his appearance Watchingin promoting his new book Communion: Finding My Way Back to FaithVance admitted that he was “a conspiracy theorist on the Epstein stuff” before he became vice president of the United States.

“I think it’s crazy that you have this guy who is obviously a rapist who hangs out with a lot of rich and powerful people. I was saddened by that,” he said to the team that included him. Whoopi Goldberg, Sarah Haines, Joy Behar again Alyssa Farah Griffin. “I don’t know what’s going on, no one really knows what happened unless you were there, but that upset me and I wanted to be fully open.”

Several collections of Watching they were criticizing the Trump administration. Before Vance’s interview began, Goldberg, 70, expressed his gratitude to the vice president for agreeing to appear on the show.

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“This show has invited thousands of visitors with all kinds of different ideas, and we’re asking our next guest to join us for a little while now,” he said. “We are glad that you accepted the request today.”

Vance responded, “This is a MAGA Republicans show, right? … That’s what my press team told me.”

Watching airs weekdays on ABC. Check yours local list online.