‘Nothing to hide’: Why Trump changed his mind on the Epstein files

Here & Now Anytime

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4.1 • 953 Ratings

🗓️ 17 November 2025

⏱️ 22 minutes

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Summary

President Trump posted on social media Sunday night that "we have nothing to hide" and now says House Republicans should vote to release all files on convicted sex offender and well-connected financier Jeffrey Epstein. Punchbowl News co-founder John Bresnahan explains why.

And, even with the government open again, Head Start programs are unstable, with some of them still closed. Tommy Sheridan, deputy director of the National Head Start Association, shares more.

Then, Kentucky's Republican senators are feuding over a provision quietly tucked into the bill that reopened the government. Sen. Mitch McConnell added language banning the sale of hemp products with more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container. Sen. Rand Paul says the provision could devastate the industry. Kentucky Public Radio's Joe Sonka explains.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for here and now anytime comes from MathWorks, creator of MATLAB and Simulink software for technical computing and model-based design.
0:09.2	MathWorks, accelerating the pace of discovery in engineering and science. Learn more at MathWorks.com.
0:17.6	WBUR Podcasts, Boston.
0:22.7	This could be a watershed.
0:24.8	I wouldn't go too far.
0:25.9	Every time we thought that the Republicans would break with Trump,
0:29.2	for instance, after January 6, after the January 6 attack on the Capitol,
0:33.4	they didn't, of course.
0:35.2	And now he's stronger than ever in terms of the party.
0:38.6	Republicans defy Trump on the Epstein files.
0:51.8	It's Monday, November 17th, and this is here and now anytime from NPR and WBUR.
0:57.3	I'm Chris Bentley.
1:01.4	Today on the show, some lingering impacts of the government shutdown, including why some kids are still missing out on childcare childcare almost five days after the shutdown ended.
1:13.6	Also, last week's deal might have reopened the government, but Senator Rand Paul says it's
1:18.8	also sending a billion dollar business up in smoke.
1:22.6	This bill contains language that has been airdropped in that will destroy hemp farming in Kentucky and across
1:30.1	the United States.
1:31.2	The fight over the hemp loophole coming up in about 15 minutes.
1:36.4	But first, President Trump has changed his mind about the Jeffrey Epstein files.
1:43.0	He now says he wants House Republicans to vote, yay, on a measure to
1:46.7	force the Justice Department to release all of its files on Epstein, a convicted abuser of
1:53.0	teenage girls. Epstein, of course, was friends with many rich and powerful men, including
	...

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