共和党参议员托姆·蒂利斯(Thom Tillis)周三继续反对共和党众议院领导层和唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)总统公布杰弗里·爱泼斯坦(Jeffrey Epstein)的文件。
这位北卡罗莱纳州共和党人在Axios的一次活动中挑衅性地呼吁“释放该死的文件”。
“在竞选期间公布文件的承诺要么被夸大了，如果文件被公布，我们会得到一个无足轻重的汉堡，要么是一些真正令人不安的东西，这实际上是一个更令人信服的理由来公布它，”蒂利斯说。
蒂利斯预测，爱泼斯坦的文件将继续是一个问题，“直到明年的选举”，并表示，释放这些文件将是最好的方式来度过它。
蒂利斯在当天晚些时候告诉美国广播公司，他对这个问题很认真。
“我不知道我说我们应该公布文件有什么不明确的。我还是袖手旁观那个，”他说。
蒂利斯周三发表评论之际，爱泼斯坦档案事件继续在国会山引发戏剧性事件。周二，众议院议长·迈克·约翰逊说他会提前结束立法会议在国会8月休会并推迟委员会对要求公布爱泼斯坦文件的两党立法的投票之前。
提利斯说，众议院提前离开不会缓解人们的担忧。
他在Axios的活动上说，“我认为应该公布这些文件，让阳光照射进来，这是解决这个问题的最好方法。”
“否则，如果有人认为这种情况会因为房子提前一天离开或其他原因而消失，那就像《行尸走肉》中的那些僵尸一样:每次你认为你杀了它，另一只就会从壁橱里跑出来追你，”他补充道。
蒂利斯告诉美国广播公司新闻，“我认为房子应该回到这里和我们一起享受乐趣。”
上周，蒂利斯在文件中有类似的信息，称政府需要“只是发布它并处理它。”
“为什么我们不把它放出来处理呢?如果因为没有实质性而尴尬，那也没关系。如果因为有人受到牵连而尴尬，那也没关系。我们只是需要解决它，”蒂利斯上周四在国会大厦对记者说。
约翰逊说，他希望这些文件被公开，但不想伤害受害者。
周三，发言人告诉记者，对于爱泼斯坦的投票，“我们没有任何恐惧”，因为众议院几乎被爱泼斯坦的戏剧瘫痪了。
约翰逊告诉美国广播公司新闻的国会山记者杰伊·奥布赖恩:“今天进行投票没有意义，因为政府已经在他们的权力范围内尽一切努力释放他们。”
特朗普强烈反对要求提供这些文件，但已下令司法部寻求批准发布大陪审团在调查中的证词。
然而，一些共和党人和民主党人表示，应该公布所有相关文件。
蒂利斯驳斥了那些说由于受害者的脆弱性，这些文件不能被释放的人，并说这些问题可以很容易地通过编辑姓名和个人信息来解决。
“而这种‘嗯，我们必须保护无辜的证人’之类的废话——这就是所谓的编辑。我们总是这样做，这是一种虚假的，一个试图阻止你不想发生的事情的糟糕理由，”他说。
然而，众议院多数党党鞭代表汤姆·埃默声称，爱泼斯坦的事情是一个“非问题”。
“这有点可笑，如果它如此重要，为什么在拜登执政的四年里，民主党人没有为此大声疾呼?”他在Axios活动中说道。
GOP Sen. Thom Tillis says Epstein files could impact midterm prospects
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis continued to buck against Republican House leadership and President Donald Trump Wednesday over the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
The North Carolina Republican made a defiant call to "release the damn files" while appearing at an Axios event.
"The promise to release the files during the campaign was either overplayed and we got a nothing burger if the files get released, or it's something really disturbing and that's actually an even more compelling reason to release it," Tillis said.
Tillis predicted that the Epstein files will continue to be an issue "all the way through next year's election" and said that releasing the files would be the best way to get past it.
Sen. Thom Tillis takes the Senate subway at the Capitol Building, June 30, 2025. Republican leaders are pushing to get President Donald Trump's "One, Big, Beautiful Bill" Act through
Tillis told ABC News later in the day that he is serious about the issue.
"I don't know what's ambiguous about me saying we should release the files. I still stand by that," he said.
Tillis' Wednesday comments come as the Epstein files saga continues to cause drama on Capitol Hill. On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he wouldend the legislative session earlybefore Congress' August recess and postponed a committee vote on bipartisan legislation that would call for the release of the Epstein files.
The House leaving early won't do anything to ease concerns, Tillis said.
"I think the files should be released, let the light of day, let the sun shine through, and that's the best way to get past it," he said at the Axios event.
"Otherwise, if anybody thinks that this is going to go away because the House left a day early or something, it's going to be like those zombies in 'The Walking Dead': every time you think you've killed it, another one is just going to come running out of the closet after you," he added.
Tillis told ABC News, "I think the House should be back here with us to enjoy the fun."
Last week, Tillis had a similar message on the files, saying the administration needs to "just release it and deal with it."
"Why don't we just release it and deal with it? If it's embarrassing because it's not substantive, that's fine. If it's embarrassing because somebody's implicated, that's fine. We just need to solve it," Tillis said to reporters at the Capitol last Thursday.
Johnson said he would like the files to be released, but did not want to harm the victims.
On Wednesday, the speaker told reporters that "we don't have any fear" on Epstein votes as the House floor is practically paralyzed by the Epstein drama.
"There's no point in having a vote today, because the administration is already doing everything within their power to release them," Johnson told ABC News' Capitol Hill Correspondent Jay O'Brien.
Trump has lashed out against calls for the files, but has ordered the Justice Department to seek approval to release grand jury testimony from the probe.
Some Republicans and Democrats, however, said that all pertinent files should come out.
Tillis dismissed those who say the files cannot be released due to the vulnerability of victims, and said those concerns could easily be dealt with by redacting names and personal details.
"And this nonsense of 'Well, we've got to protect the innocent witnesses,' those sorts of things -- that's called redaction. We do that all the time, that's sort of a fake for -- a bad reason for trying to stop something that you don't want to happen," he said.
House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer, however, claimed the Epstein matter is a "non-issue."
"It's kind of funny, if it was so important, why weren't Democrats clamoring for this for four years under Biden?," he said during the Axios event.
