Mark Penn says Democrats have hidden agenda when it comes to Epstein files

Political strategist Mark Penn said on Fox News Friday that the Democrats’ focus on the Jeffrey Epstein case files is a calculated effort to distract people from seeing President Donald Trump’s economic success.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Monday that Democrats’ push for additional Epstein-related documents is politically motivated, as they did not demand transparency during former President Joe Biden’s presidency. During an appearance on “Special Report with Bret Baier,” Penn said that while many Democrats may not care about the details of Epstein’s network, they see political value in keeping the issue in the spotlight.

“I think there are a lot of people who are suspicious of what happened here. Why were these documents pulled? What is the president hiding? And the administration does not seem to be able to duck this,” Penn told host Bret Baier. “I think Democrats are getting something of an edge here. They don’t really care about the Epstein files, but they want the administration talking about the Epstein files.”

Penn said that despite positive economic indicators such as a rising stock market, job growth, and decreasing inflation, Democrats are intentionally steering the conversation toward the Epstein files.

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“They don’t want the administration talking about how the economy seems to be doing better. The stock market is up. Jobs are good. Inflation is down. They don’t want the administration doing any of that. They want them talking about the Epstein file,” Penn said.

In June 2025, the U.S. stock market showed significant growth, with the S&P 500 rising nearly 5% for the month, bringing its year-to-date gain to 5.5% . The labor market remained strong, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.1%.

Inflation in May rose at a slower pace than anticipated, hitting a four-year low, with the Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index both increasing by just 0.1%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Meanwhile, the U.S. economy surpassed expectations by adding 147,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in June, well above the forecasted 106,000.

Despite Trump’s economic successes, Democrats remained focused on the release of the Epstein files. During the Biden administration, Democrats largely ignored calls for government transparency, failed to oversee the handling of Epstein-related documents, and in 2019 the Democratic National Committee mocked speculation about Epstein’s death as “baseless conspiracy theories.”