The case of Jeffrey Epstein, sex offender and former friend of the president, has blown up into a major headache for the White House.

The House is leaving Washington a day early for it's five-week August recess after tensions erupted over efforts to force release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Why it matters: Fallout from the debate over the Epstein files has effectively frozen House business.

The White House is not denying that President Donald Trump's name appears in the files associated with financier Jeffrey Epstein, an administration official told Reuters on Wednesday. The official said the fact of Trump's name appearing in the files had been acknowledged in briefing binders that were shared with influencers.