Georgia Republican Representative Mike Collins is making headlines after he was caught on a hot mic during an August 13 Muscogee County GOP meeting admitting that he believes President Donald Trump is in the Epstein files, adding that "we need to release" them.
Trump has done everything he can these last few weeks to avoid any and all questions about the Epstein files, which are said to contain detailed lists of some of the late financier, pedophile, and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein's most high-profile clients and enablers.
He is widely believed to be in the files and has rejected calls by his followers to release them. In turn, he has admonished critics of Attorney General Pam Bondi, who recently concluded no such list exists despite claiming the exact opposite just months ago.
Asked by a constituent whether Trump is in the files, Collins said:
“Yeah, I’m sure he’s in there because he was the one that was telling the FBI about it. He's the one who kicked the guy [Epstein] out of Mar-a-Lago and then called the FBI. Yeah, he's in there."
Collins added that he supports releasing the files:
"Oh, we need to release them. I have no problem releasing it, but you’ve got to go through the judicial [system]. We all know that. ... I’m not a lawyer and I’m not a judge, but it is more complicated than just saying, ‘boom, here’s the files.’”
You can hear what Collins said in the audio below.
Collins' admission only angered people further, prompting more calls for the files to be released.
After the hot mic recording was first reported by The Washington Examiner, a Collins campaign spokesperson tried to distance him from it, saying:
“Mike’s words speak for themselves: President Trump was right about everything, kicked Epstein to the curb, and did nothing wrong.
The spokesperson went on to describe the Epstein files as a "massive nothingburger from never-Trump consultants using DNC talking points."
Suuuuure.
