Mock Republican convention website redirects users to Epstein Files

Democratic lawmakers poke fun at prank website, while Republicans slam ‘fake news’ and redirect users to real one.

The Epstein Files have been a source of persistent criticism for the second administration of US President Donald Trump [File: David 'Dee' Delgado/Reuters]

A mock website that directs users to the Epstein Files appears to be the primary search result on Google for the Republican Party’s upcoming midterm convention in Dallas, Texas.

For hours on Friday, the website gopdallas2026.com soared to the top of the search results, with preview text that offered viewers the chance to “discover details about the 2026 RNC [Republican National Committee] Midterm Convention”.

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But users who clicked on the website were immediately taken to the Department of Justice’s website for the files about notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein .

The Republican Party quickly denounced the website on social media, pointing visitors instead to GOPConvention.com for the official site.

“FAKE NEWS!” the party wrote of the reports circulating on social media that the fake website was the real one.

Democratic lawmakers used the prank to revive discussion of the Epstein Files, which has been a long-running source of criticism for the administration of President Donald Trump , a speaker at the two-day convention.

Trump officials have been accused of mishandling the files’ release, which was mandated within 30 days under November’s Epstein Files Transparency Act.

Some critics have pointed out that certain records published by the Justice Department appear unnecessarily redacted, while others reveal the identities of victims.

Trump has also faced scrutiny for his personal relationship with Epstein, which he says ended decades ago.

There has long been speculation, however, that powerful figures in Epstein’s orbit turned a blind eye to his crimes. He was convicted in 2008 of soliciting a minor, and he faced sex-trafficking charges at the time of his death in 2019. His victims are thought to number in the hundreds.

Democratic lawmakers like Representative Ted Lieu of California seized on reports of the purported convention website. He shared a message from reporter Jake Lahut saying that “something funky is going on”.

“I just tried the website and the below description, as of right now, is accurate,” Lieu said in response to Lahut. “Sort of awesome.”

According to documentation from the Internet Archive, which captures snapshots of past websites, gopdallas2026.com used to include a background photo displaying the American Airlines Center in Dallas, the site of the upcoming midterm convention.

The centre of the website prompted users to input their contact information to “get exclusive updates”.

But, in small text at the bottom, the website included a caveat that it was not the official source for information related to the midterm convention.

“This website is an independent informational resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the Republican National Committee (RNC), the 2026 RNC Midterm Convention, the American Airlines Center, or any official convention entity,” it said.

“For official convention information, please visit the appropriate official websites.”

This month’s event is the first-ever midterm convention hosted by the Republican Party.

It is slated to take place from September 9 to 10. A press release from the Republican National Committee indicates that the event is expected to be the party’s largest convention since 2016.

Trump is reportedly slated to speak on both nights, as he tries to rouse enthusiasm for his party ahead of the November midterm elections.

Republicans hope to hold onto their majorities in the House of Representatives and Senate as Trump’s popularity slides to new lows amid continued fallout from the war on Iran.

“Never before in history has any major party held a midterm convention, and President Trump wants to focus in on that and open this up to the American people, because all of his work has been about improving their lives,” RNC spokesperson Zach Kraft said in an interview with CBS Texas.

Democrats, however, held national midterm party conferences in 1974, 1978 and 1982.

“So, he wants them to be able to have an opportunity to attend this event and hear from him directly.”

民主党议员嘲讽恶作剧网站，而共和党人则抨击“假新闻”，并将用户引导至真正的新闻网站。

爱泼斯坦档案一直是美国总统唐纳德·特朗普第二任期内持续受到批评的根源。[图片：David 'Dee' Delgado/路透社]

在谷歌上搜索共和党即将在德克萨斯州达拉斯举行的中期选举大会时，一个指向“爱泼斯坦档案”的模拟网站似乎成为了主要搜索结果。

周五，gopdallas2026.com 网站在搜索结果中排名飙升数小时，其预览文字让浏览者有机会“了解 2026 年共和党全国委员会中期大会的详情”。

名单1/3：亿万富翁莱昂·布莱克就爱泼斯坦传票起诉美国国会小组

（共3条，此为第2条）新墨西哥州起诉美国司法部阻挠对爱泼斯坦的调查

前美国司法部长帕姆·邦迪在爱泼斯坦案调查中作证（共3条记录，此为第3条）

但点击该网站的用户会立即跳转到司法部网站，查看有关臭名昭著的性犯罪者杰弗里·爱泼斯坦的文件。

共和党迅速在社交媒体上谴责了该网站，并引导访问者访问官方网站 GOPConvention.com。

“假新闻！”该党就社交媒体上流传的所谓“假网站才是真网站”的报道发文回应。

民主党议员利用这个恶作剧重新引发了对爱泼斯坦档案的讨论，该档案长期以来一直是唐纳德·特朗普总统政府受到批评的根源，特朗普总统本人也在为期两天的党代会上发表了讲话。

特朗普政府官员被指控处理文件发布不当，根据 11 月份通过的《爱泼斯坦文件透明法案》，这些文件必须在 30 天内发布。

一些批评人士指出，司法部公布的某些记录似乎被不必要地删减了，而另一些记录则泄露了受害者的身份。

特朗普还因其与爱泼斯坦的私人关系而受到审查，他声称这段关系几十年前就结束了。

然而，长期以来一直有传言称，爱泼斯坦身边的一些权势人物对他的罪行视而不见。他于2008年被判犯有引诱未成年人罪，并在2019年去世时面临性交易指控。据信他的受害者多达数百人。

加州众议员特德·刘等民主党议员抓住有关所谓大会网站的报道大做文章。他转发了记者杰克·拉胡特的一条消息，称“有些不对劲”。

“我刚刚试了一下那个网站，就目前来看，下面的描述是准确的，”刘回应拉胡特说。“简直太棒了。”

根据互联网档案馆（记录过去网站的快照）的文档显示，gopdallas2026.com 曾经包含一张背景照片，照片显示的是达拉斯的美国航空中心，即将举行的中期选举大会就在这里举行。

网站中心提示用户输入联系信息以“获取独家更新”。

但是，该网站底部的小字注明，它并非有关中期大会的官方信息来源。

“本网站是一个独立的信息资源，与共和党全国委员会 (RNC)、2026 年 RNC 中期选举大会、美国航空中心或任何官方大会实体均无关联，也未获得其认可或运营。”声明中写道。

“有关大会的官方信息，请访问相应的官方网站。”

本月举行的活动是共和党首次主办的中期选举大会。

大会定于9月9日至10日举行。共和党全国委员会发布的新闻稿显示，此次大会预计将是该党自2016年以来规模最大的一次大会。

据报道，特朗普计划在两晚都发表讲话，试图在11月中期选举前激发其所在政党的热情。

由于伊朗战争的持续影响，特朗普的支持率跌至新低，共和党人希望保住他们在众议院和参议院的多数席位。

“历史上从来没有哪个主要政党举行过中期选举大会，特朗普总统希望专注于此，并向美国人民开放，因为他所做的一切都是为了改善他们的生活，”共和党全国委员会发言人扎克·克拉夫特在接受哥伦比亚广播公司德克萨斯分台采访时表示。

然而，民主党在 1974 年、1978 年和 1982 年举行了全国中期选举党代会。

“所以，他希望他们有机会参加这次活动，并直接听他讲话。”