A leaked memo circulating in Congress on Tuesday reportedly details the talking points Republican lawmakers are expected to use ahead of the public release of the Epstein Files on December 19.
According to the document, first reported by Fox News, congressional Republicans are instructed to shift focus away from former President Donald Trump, despite his alleged connections to Epstein, and to target journalists and Democratic lawmakers instead.
The memo directs GOP members to employ a DARVO strategy—deny, attack, reverse victim and offender—framing Trump as the victim while discrediting critics.
It specifically calls for targeting three Democrats: Reps. Stacey Plaskett, Yassamin Ansari, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, all of whom had limited interactions with Epstein, in an effort to deflect attention from Trump’s decades-long associations with the financier.
Republicans are also advised to discredit mainstream media outlets reporting critically on the Epstein Files, emphasizing that some photos labeled as “never-before-seen” had already been publicly released by far-right media sources.
The memo criticizes “Legacy Media” for amplifying alleged falsehoods and encourages a focus on media malpractice rather than addressing the substantive allegations. The full Epstein Files are legally mandated to be released to the public by Friday, December 19.