Marjorie Taylor Greene says Trump’s biggest 'miscalculation' was calling Epstein files a ‘hoax’

Marjorie Taylor Greene said that Donald Trump fought to block the Epstein files’ release and signed the bill only after political pressure
PUBLISHED FEB 16, 2026
Marjorie Taylor Greene said Donald Trump’s biggest political miscalculation was calling the Jeffrey Epstein files a 'hoax' and resisting their release (Getty Images, Getty Images)
Marjorie Taylor Greene said Donald Trump’s biggest political miscalculation was calling the Jeffrey Epstein files a 'hoax' and resisting their release (Getty Images, Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC: Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG) criticized Donald Trump over the Jeffrey Epstein files. She said that Trump’s “biggest political miscalculation of his career” was calling the Epstein files a “hoax.”

The former GOP representative did not shy away from saying the president fought “the hardest” to “stop” the files from “being released.” Greene also claimed that the situation has now become “a massive political problem.”

Chair of the Subcommittee on Delivering On Government Efficiency (DOGE) U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-SC) presides over a hearing of the House Oversight Subcommittee in the U.S. Capitol on February 26, 2025 in Washington, DC. The subcommittee held the hearing to hear from witnesses on U.S. foreign aid. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Chair of the Subcommittee on Delivering On Government Efficiency (DOGE) Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-SC) presides over a hearing of the House Oversight Subcommittee in the US Capitol on February 26, 2025 in Washington, DC. The subcommittee held the hearing to hear from witnesses on foreign aid (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

This is not the first time she has targeted the Epstein files. Just a few days earlier, ahead of her latest interview, she again called the controversy the “biggest political miscalculation” of Trump’s career and accused him of fighting “the hardest” against the release of the files.

MTG faults Trump over Epstein files battle

As per Newsweek, during an interview with 'Owen Reports' released on Saturday, February 14, MTG spoke about Trump. She said, “He fought the hardest to stop these files from being released, and the only reason that he signed our bill that we passed in the House was because he had to. It became a massive political problem.” According to her, Trump should have accepted that the contents of the Epstein files were real and should not have dismissed them as a “hoax” or tried to deny them.

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 08: A protest group called
 A protest group called 'Hot Mess' hold up signs of Jeffrey Epstein and President Donald Trump in front of the Federal courthouse on July 8, 2019 in New York City (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

Greene also claimed that Trump had House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, “refuse to bring the bill to the floor to the point where Thomas Massie, myself, Nancy Mace and Lauren Boebert actually had to vote with all of the Democrats to get it released, to get it the discharge petition passed so that the bill could come to the floor.”

Greene’s criticism of Trump has drawn attention before. The president reportedly grew frustrated with her after she supported Democratic efforts to release the Epstein files, calling her a “ranting lunatic” on Truth Social in November 2026.

MTG questions names listed in the latest Epstein files release

The DOJ sent a letter to Congress explaining which records it released and which it kept secret under the “Epstein Files Transparency Act.” One part of the release included the names of more than 300 people. The list included Trump, former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, as well as celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Kurt Cobain, and Bruce Springsteen.



Listed in the letter, among many others, were Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican; Representative Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican; Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican; and Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat.

Earlier this year, the DOJ released more than 3 million pages under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Trump signed into law in November. The collection included about 2,000 videos and 180,000 images.

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