Omar says Trump is “the leader of the pedophile protection party” as Epstein files fight heats up
Rep. Ilhan Omar escalated Democratic attacks on President Donald Trump on Thursday, writing on X that “Trump is the leader of the pedophile protection party” as the political fallout from the government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files continued to grow. In the same post, Omar pointed to Trump’s ties to Epstein, saying Trump appears in the files thousands of times, referring to a disputed birthday note containing the phrase “wonderful secret,” and accusing him of lying about flying on Epstein’s private jet. Her post landed as both parties continued battling over what the Justice Department has released, what was withheld, and whether powerful people are still being shielded.
Trump is the leader of the pedophile protection party.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 12, 2026
Trump is in the Epstein files 38,000 times.
Trump wrote to Epstein about their “wonderful secret.”
Trump flew on Epstein’s private jet (and lied.)
Omar’s broader argument is political, not a legal finding. Trump has not been charged in connection with Epstein, and the Justice Department has said some allegations tied to his name were “unfounded and false.” At the same time, recent document releases have undeniably put Trump’s past relationship with Epstein back under a harsher spotlight. The Washington Post reported that the Justice Department last week released previously withheld interview notes involving a woman who accused Trump and Epstein of sexually assaulting her as a minor in the 1980s, though the White House strongly denied the claims and said they lacked credible evidence.
Some of Omar’s specific references do line up with publicly released material, though they need context. Reuters reported in December that a newly released prosecutor email said Trump flew on Epstein’s private jet at least eight times in the 1990s, more than had previously been publicly known. That undercuts Trump’s previous attempts to distance himself from Epstein’s aircraft, but Reuters also reported that the released files did not establish criminal wrongdoing by Trump.
Her reference to a “wonderful secret” points to the alleged 2003 birthday note that has become one of the most talked-about Epstein-related documents. Reuters and AP both reported that Congress released a letter bearing Trump’s name that ended with the line, “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.” Trump has denied writing it, and the authenticity fight over that note remains part of the larger political and legal dispute around the files.
The “38,000 times” line appears to come from reporting about a New York Times review of the January document release, which found more than 5,300 files containing more than 38,000 Trump-related references, including references to Trump, Melania Trump, Mar-a-Lago and related search terms. That figure does not mean 38,000 separate accusations or findings against Trump. It is better understood as a large number of document references tied to him and his orbit.
The bigger backdrop here is the fight over transparency. Congress passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November after Trump had initially resisted broader disclosure before reversing course. Since then, lawmakers in both parties have criticized the Justice Department over delays, redactions and apparently incomplete releases. Reuters reported that millions of pages have now been released, but lawmakers are still demanding answers about what was withheld and why.
That’s the political opening Omar is trying to exploit. She is not offering a court-tested accusation so much as a brutal framing of a narrative many Democrats are pushing: that Trump and his allies have benefited from secrecy, delay and selective disclosure in the Epstein saga. Whether that line sticks is another matter. What is clear is that every new release has made it harder for Trump’s team to wave the issue away entirely, even as the White House keeps insisting the most serious allegations are false and defamatory
