Luna Says Epstein Files Fight Became Trump’s Objection

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) told Ross Douthat she believes Jeffrey Epstein was tied to foreign intelligence, pointing to items she says were found in his safe, as she defended her long push to release as many classified records as possible. Luna also said sh

When Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) talks about Jeffrey Epstein, she doesn’t start with scandal headlines. She starts with paper—documents, redactions, and a fight over who got to see what, and when.

In a wide-ranging interview published Friday. Luna sat down with New York Times opinion columnist Ross Douthat and was pressed on a central question: why President Donald Trump. she said. was reluctant to release the Epstein files. Douthat challenged the Florida Republican to explain what she made of the president’s stance.

Luna didn’t directly answer the why in the way Douthat asked. but she recounted what she said happened on the ground. She told Douthat she remembers calling over and saying, “Hey, I think you guys should just release these. Give the files to oversight.” She said they agreed—but she also argued the release became tangled in timing and an additional batch of documents that arrived only after a judge in New York prompted the next steps. She said the process also involved the D.O.J. which she described as allocating. “I think it was 500 attorneys at once. ” to go through and redact victim information. Luna said that wasn’t ideal. “However, why did it take so long?” she asked.

Douthat returned to Trump’s objections. noting that during the same stretch the president was making public comments that framed the issue as “a Democrat hoax.” He also suggested Trump’s concerns weren’t just about delay. He argued it appeared to be about the kind of release Luna was pushing for. and whether the approach would play into a broader political fight.

Luna linked Trump’s rhetoric to the emotions of a person under accusation. “I think when he said ‘Democrat hoax. ’ and I think that Karoline Leavitt clarified this. ” Luna said. explaining that when someone is facing accusations of trafficking people and being a rapist. “you’re going to get upset and you’re going to call it.” She compared it to how she said she would respond in the same position. She also insisted her conversations with the president were not personal. “I want to be clear that my conversations with him were not personal and nasty. ” Luna said. and added that she described herself as “the biggest proponent of releasing these things.”.

The interview then turned to Luna’s core view of Epstein himself—one that, in her telling, is rooted in what she claims she saw.

Douthat asked whether Luna believed the harder-core Epstein conspiracy theories are still likely to be true. Luna responded by pushing the question back: “Well. there’s a lot of them. so which ones?” When Douthat began describing the set he had in mind. Luna asked him to say which ones. replying. “Well. tell me what they are.”.

Douthat described the effect that the data dump had on him. saying he’d reviewed only some of the material and wasn’t claiming he read every single document. He said his sense after seeing what was released was that the story contained less than he had expected. He suggested Epstein appeared to have connections to Israeli intelligence or some other foreign intelligence. but that he didn’t see evidence Epstein was actually working for them in the way some theories claim. Douthat said he also didn’t see evidence of blackmail being carried out—though he conceded the possibility of blackmail “but there wasn’t evidence there.”.

Douthat said the exposure reduced his sense that there was a truly profound and dark secret. It made him more likely. he said. to believe Epstein was a sexual predator with rich and powerful friends who helped cover for him. “It’s still an interesting story, but it’s not the most interesting story,” Douthat said.

Luna answered by grounding her argument in a specific detail she said she found while reviewing records that were unredacted through the D.O.J. She said Epstein had an alias: “It was a passport. ” she told Douthat. and she said the address associated with it was located. “I think. in Saudi Arabia.” She added. “I believe it was an Austrian passport.” Luna said she believed that passport was in Epstein’s safe along with “a bunch of other cash. diamonds. et cetera.”.

To Luna, the combination of that information inside the safe is what stands out. “Most people don’t have a completely fake name in a safe with that type of information. ” she said. adding that to her it was a first sign that “he definitely had intel connections.” She argued. “I think the guy dealt in intelligence and exchange of information.”.

Still, she said there are questions she believes may never be resolved. “The thing that will always be a question for me. ” Luna said. “and I don’t think that we’re ever going to get the answer on this. is: What happened with the alleged evidence that was destroyed?” She also said she believed the kind of operation she’s describing “could not have existed without the intelligence agencies knowing about it. ” and she pressed for the remaining missing piece: “so what exactly was he doing?”.

The clip ends with Luna returning to the same knot: the released records, the redactions, and what remains unknown. For her, the fight over disclosure isn’t just procedural. It’s personal to the story—because what she believes the documents can’t fully explain is also what she says will leave an unanswered question hanging over the entire Epstein case.

Anna Paulina Luna Epstein files Jeffrey Epstein Trump oversight D.O.J. redactions Karoline Leavitt intelligence agent foreign intelligence Ross Douthat