President Donald Trump and his aides have settled on silence as a strategy to stamp out criticism of his refusal to release files detailing the federal government's investigation of Epstein, according to a senior administration official and Republicans familiar with the White House's thinking.

During Mr. Trump's first term, his labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, resigned following criticism of his handling of Epstein's 2008 plea deal when he was a federal prosecutor in Florida. Epstein served 13 months in a jail work-release program after he was originally accused of sexually abusing dozens of girls and young women.