News - The View's Ana Navarro slams 'white, rich, powerful, entitled men' protecting Jeffrey Epstein files

The View cohost Ana Navarro has had it with rich men sticking up for other rich men, the Republican panelist said on Thursday's live show. In an emphatic assessment of the controversy surrounding the supposed Jeffrey Epstein files and speculation about which famous figures were or weren't involved in dealings with the convicted sex offender, Navarro and fellow View star Sara Haines called out those upholding shrouds of secrecy related to the ordeal after Epstein's suicide in jail in 2019. "He could pick up the phone and get world leaders to show up," Haines said of Epstein's sway over influential figures. "Why did this man have so much power?" She continued, "It's not even about Donald Trump that I want to see these files; they absolutely have to show us what they're all hiding. And it's billionaires." Haines alleged, "There's a lot of money behind this scandal." "Sara, this is white, rich, powerful, entitled men protecting other white, rich, powerful, entitled men. Men who thought they could get away with anything, and for decades, did," Navarro replied. "I don't know why we're getting sucked up into a political partisan fight about this. This is about right and wrong," she later added, before saying that "we have failed the victims of Jeffrey Epstein. We as a country, our legal system, our institutions, our leaders, we've failed those victims time and time again." She stressed that "we cannot fail them now" and urged for the release of more information related to the matter. Before the show went to a commercial break, Navarro took aim at political figures, warning them that "anybody who votes against releasing these files, that's going to be a stain in your personal character for the rest of your life." Haines and Navarro's statements came after Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released three emails in which Epstein referenced Trump. Republicans on the committee unveiled more documents as they accused left-leaning politicians of attempting to use the emails (which they alleged were released out of context) to stain Trump's image, per the Associated Press. President Trump has long denied any wrongdoing in relation to his past friendship to Epstein. The White House has previously said that Trump "kicked [Epstein] out of his [Mar-a-Lago] club for being a creep," before alleging that claims he was involved in Epstein's misdeeds are a "hoax" concocted by Democrats, the BBC reported. Entertainment Weekly has reached out to a representative for the White House for comment. Cohosts of The View have long spoken about the Epstein files on the show, with Joy Behar previously saying on the air that she's "fine with" criticizing any Democrat who might end up being named in the files, because, as she said, she's "not in a cult."Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter. In July, the cohosts addressed speculation that they're on the Epstein client list, with moderator Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar brushing off the accusations during the broadcast. The View airs weekdays on ABC.