Iowa Senate candidate Ashley Hinson was slapped with a Community Note on X after releasing a campaign ad claiming she voted to release the Epstein files.
“I voted to release the Epstein files and have spent years working across the aisle to protect survivors of sexual abuse,” Hinson wrote in the caption of the ad, which she shared on social media.
In the video, Hinson also took direct aim at her opponent, Josh Turek, accusing him of “lying” about “men who hurt children.”
“Men like Epstein, who hurt children, they’ll have to answer to God,” she said in the ad. “But men who lie about it to win an election, they’ll have to answer to you.”
But the Community Note attached to the post added context to Hinson’s claim.
“Rep. Hinson voted for the Epstein Files Transparency Act (H.R. 4405) in Nov. 2025 after a discharge petition passed without her signature. She voted for prior procedural motions blocking standalone votes and did not sign key discharge petitions,” the note reads.
The back-and-forth stems from an earlier ad from Turek. In that spot, Turek claimed in part that Hinson “skipped three votes to help expose the Epstein files,” and accused her of “protecting predators and billionaire donors.”
Turek was not a member of Congress and could not have voted for or against releasing the files.
The fight over the files traces back to a discharge petition that ultimately pushed Republicans to vote for their release.
That petition sat idle for 50 days, during which House Speaker Mike Johnson delayed swearing in Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., last year.
Grijalva was finally sworn in on Nov. 12, nearly two months after winning her seat. Her signature was the final one needed to move the release forward.
The delay dragged on even though any single Republican could have added their own signature during that time.
Once the measure reached the floor, it passed overwhelmingly. Congress ultimately voted 427-1 to release the files, with Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., casting the lone “no” vote.
Hinson was among those who voted in favor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which is the basis for the claim in her ad. The Community Note, however, points out that she did so only after the discharge petition passed without her signature, and that she had earlier voted for procedural motions that blocked standalone votes on the issue.
The dispute highlights how the Epstein files have become a flashpoint on the campaign trail, with Hinson pointing to her vote for the release while Turek accuses her of dodging earlier opportunities to help expose the files.
Hinson’s ad framed the race as a question of honesty, telling voters that those who lie about the issue to win an election will have to answer to them. The Community Note now adds a new layer to that message, giving voters a fuller picture of her record on the files ahead of Election Day.
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