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On Tuesday, Miami U.S. Rep María Elvira Salazar proclaimed on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that she voted to release all files related to the Justice Department’s investigation into disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Today, I want to be crystal clear: I will vote YES to release the Epstein Files,” she wrote. “There are moral lines in life you simply do NOT cross. The American people deserve full transparency. No one is above the truth, not the rich, not the powerful, not the politically connected. Accountability must come first.”
However, many social media users wanted to know where this enthusiasm was months ago, when the GOP and President Donald Trump blocked the release of the files. Despite once calling the files a “Democratic Hoax,” Trump reversed course over the weekend and urged Republicans to vote to release the files. Following Trump’s order, both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate quickly approved the bill ordering the Justice Department to release all of the files, and the measure now awaits Trump’s signature.
In response to Salazar’s tweet, one user wrote, “Thank you for showing the courage to do the right thing, after it became politically safe to do so. I can only imagine how tough of a decision it must have been to vote YES, now that everyone else in the world is a yes.”
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Many pointed out that Salazar appears to support the release only because of Trump’s sudden reversal.
A user wrote, “Only because now Trump said you could. Get off your moral high ground. We know why you voted yes. Where were you helping these Epstein survivors before?”
One said in Spanish, “Your dad gave you permission.”
Another added in Spanish, “After your master gave you permission??? Did your moral compass change??? You’re ridiculous.”
Someone asked, “Where were you a week ago?”
Others were harsher in their responses.
“Grow a spine,” a user chimed in, while one simply wrote, “Stfu.”
One said, “Your daddy already ordered y’all minions to do so.”
Some users were also quick to criticize Salazar after she refused to condemn President Trump for calling a female Bloomberg reporter, “Piggy” while fielding questions on Air Force One.
“Hey, you know, President Trump is a very picturesque and difficult and different type of politician,” Salazar told CNN host Jake Tapper on Tuesday. “But I always say that I look at his policies, not at his personality. No one is perfect. Those who are perfect are in Heaven.”
A user responded to Salazar, “Then why can you turn the other cheek when Trump, who is mentioned in the Epstein emails, degrades women all the time? ‘Quiet, Quiet Piggy’? This is a pattern, and I’m sick of everyone looking the other way. Why are you dancing around and not condemning this?”
