Harry Enten said the figures "surprised" him as the president navigates GOP criticism on his administration's handling of the Epstein files.

Donald Trump said on Thursday he had directed his attorney general, Pam Bondi, to seek the release of grand jury testimony related to Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking case as he sought to tamp down controversy over a story that he allegedly contributed a sketch of a naked woman to Epstein’s 50th birthday album.

Trump threatened a lawsuit after the Journal on Thursday described a sexually suggestive letter that the newspaper says bore Trump’s name and was included in a 2003 album for Epstein’s 50th birthday.

The Trump administration's handling of what are known as the Epstein files has been creating a firestorm within the president's MAGA base. NPR recaps a timeline of the controversy.

No doubt for mainstream-media readers, the Epstein rift came out of nowhere,” said a New York Times reporter. “We had not established how important this story was to a good chunk of the MAGA base.” A political reporter at a rival publication added,

A “big” file with transaction data on sex predator Jeffrey Epstein “full of actionable information” is sitting idle in the Treasury Department, a high-ranking Democratic

"It's perpetrated by the Democrats. And some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net..." President Donald Trump calls the controversy surrounding his administration's handling of the files related to Jeffrey Epstein a "big hoax" and blamed Democrats for fueling the fire of the backlash during a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Bahrain in the Oval Office.

The controversy centers around the handling of documents related to convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. PBS, NPR lose funding with passage of rescission bill after airing political ads urging voters to sway senators Dave Ramsey warns Americans on buying a car Meet the robo-bunny: This tiny,

Mike Pence on Wednesday joined the chorus of Republicans calling on the Trump administration to release files about the case of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.