By Gloria Ogbonna
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) suggested Thursday that former President Donald Trump’s actions involving Iran were politically motivated and designed to divert public attention away from growing scrutiny surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Speaking during an appearance on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, Goldman argued that Trump has a history of creating major news events during politically difficult moments in order to shift the national conversation. According to Goldman, the timing of the recent developments involving Iran coincided with renewed attention on documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Well, remember what was going on when Donald Trump decided to rush us into whatever you call what happened in Iran,” Goldman said. “The Epstein files were top of mind for everyone, and the attention was increasingly focused on him. In Congress, we were reviewing documents and files, and we were finding information that, in our view, should not have been redacted but had been.”
CNN host Anderson Cooper interrupted to clarify Goldman’s remarks, asking whether he believed the situation in Iran was deliberately used as a political distraction.
“You think that was the motivation for him doing this?” Cooper asked.
Goldman responded by pointing to a previous foreign policy decision made during Trump’s presidency. He referenced the January 2020 U.S. strike that killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, arguing that the timing of that operation also coincided with a period of intense political pressure for Trump.
“Yeah,” Goldman replied. “Remember when he killed Soleimani in very early 2020? It was right in between the House impeachment and the Senate impeachment trial. Donald Trump is all about distraction.”
Goldman’s comments add to the ongoing political debate surrounding both the handling of the Epstein-related documents and U.S. policy toward Iran. Critics of the former president have frequently accused him of using major political or international developments to redirect public attention away from controversies surrounding his administration or personal affairs. Supporters, however, have rejected such claims, arguing that decisions involving national security and foreign policy are based on strategic considerations rather than domestic political concerns.
The remarks come as discussions continue in Washington over the release and review of Epstein-related records, which have generated widespread public interest and renewed questions about individuals connected to the late financier. At the same time, tensions involving Iran remain a significant issue in U.S. foreign policy, making any suggestion of political motivations behind military or diplomatic actions a subject of intense debate.
Goldman did not provide direct evidence to support his claim that the Iran-related actions were specifically intended to distract from the Epstein files. However, his comments reflect a broader criticism that Trump has often faced from political opponents, who argue that major headline-grabbing events during his political career have frequently occurred during periods of heightened scrutiny.
Source Breitbart