Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is opening up about what finally caused her break with President Donald Trump, saying it came down to her push for greater transparency about *** offender Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes.
In a lengthy profile published Dec. 29 by The New York Times, Greene told reporter Robert Draper that smaller disagreements over the course of the year may have irritated Trump — “but it was Epstein” that ultimately drove the wedge. “Epstein was everything,” she said.
“The Epstein files represent everything wrong with Washington,” Greene, 51, told the Times. “Rich, powerful elites doing horrible things and getting away with it. And the women are the victims.”
“My friends will get hurt”
Greene said a closed-door House Oversight hearing in September, where she spoke directly with Epstein survivors, pushed her to pursue accountability more aggressively. Afterward, she held a press scrum and warned that if the government wouldn’t act, she would work with victims to help reveal the names of Epstein’s associates who abused women and girls.
She said that warning triggered what became her last serious conversation with Trump — a phone call she described as hostile.
According to the Times, which said it learned about the call from both Greene and a staffer, Trump, 79, rang her Capitol Hill office to vent about her public advocacy. Greene’s staffer claimed the whole office could hear him yelling while she had the call on speakerphone.
Greene said that when she asked why he was resisting the release of names tied to Epstein, Trump replied: “My friends will get hurt.”
She also said she suggested Trump invite Epstein survivors to the Oval Office to show they were being heard — and that Trump dismissed the idea, saying they hadn’t done anything to deserve that honor, according to her account.
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White House dismisses her remarks
The White House criticized Greene’s comments and framed her departure as political resentment.
“President Trump remains the undisputed leader of the greatest and fastest growing political movement in American history — the MAGA movement,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement. “On the other hand, Congresswoman Greene is quitting on her constituents in the middle of her term and abandoning the consequential fight we’re in — we don’t have time for her petty bitterness.”
Greene repeats account from TV interview
Greene, who is set to resign from Congress on Jan. 5, has discussed the call before, including in a recent 60 Minutes interview.
“We did talk about the Epstein files, and he was extremely angry at me that I had signed the discharge petition to release the files,” she told CBS News’ Lesley Stahl, referring to a U.S. House petition seeking the release of Epstein-related documents.
When Stahl pressed for what Trump said, Greene paused, then replied: “He said that it was going to hurt people.”
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Bill passes — but file release falters
With Greene’s support, the House passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in a 427–1 vote on Nov. 18, and the Senate approved it unanimously. Trump signed it the next day, giving the federal government 30 days to release remaining files connected to the Epstein *** trafficking investigation.
The bill included exceptions — allowing the government to withhold classified material, protect victim identities, and avoid interfering with active investigations — meaning the Department of Justice could still redact or limit what it released.
The DOJ missed the Dec. 19 deadline and has since posted thousands of pages on a rolling basis, often with heavy redactions.
The disclosed material has included photos of Epstein with prominent figures such as Trump, Bill Clinton and Michael Jackson — none of whom have been accused of wrongdoing in relation to Epstein — as well as an uncorroborated rape allegation made against Trump shortly before the 2020 election, which the DOJ described as “untrue and sensationalist.”
The release has also included questionable items, including a clearly fake video of Epstein’s jail-cell suicide that was uploaded and later removed.
Survivor calls for resignations — and impeachment
Amid the chaotic rollout, Epstein survivor Haley Robson told CNN she was withdrawing her support for the administration.
“I am no longer supporting this administration. I redact any support I’ve ever given to him, Pam Bondi, Kash Patel. I am so disgusted with this administration,” Robson said.
“I think that Pam Bondi and Kash Patel both need to resign, and I would love to see No. 47 get impeached over this,” she added.
Robson also pointed to Trump’s Dec. 22 comments that it’s a “terrible thing” that photos of famous people appeared in the files because some “had nothing to do with Epstein” and only crossed paths with him.
“If you’re telling the public and the world and the survivors that just because somebody is in a picture with him doesn’t automatically mean they were involved in the crimes against children — which I understand, and I get that fully — then why are you so scared to release the files and why has there been so much resistance?” Robson said.
“If it’s just a picture, why are you going above and beyond to hide the identities of these men?”
