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The crimes and death of Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, have long fed conspiracy theories among some of President Trump\u2019s most ardent supporters.<\/p>\n
Their interest has reached a crescendo over the past week, after the Trump administration abruptly reversed course on its pledge to disclose previously unknown details about the investigation into Mr. Epstein. In an unsigned memo, the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation said their investigation turned up no evidence that Mr. Epstein kept a \u201cclient list\u201d or blackmailed notable people, and confirmed that Mr. Epstein died by suicide.<\/p>\n
Nearly all of the influential right-wing figures speaking out about the case seem to agree that more information needs to be released. Their demands are often\u00a0accompanied by blame for mishandling the case, aimed at a wide array of figures they deem responsible.<\/p>\n
Here is a breakdown of where the president and more than 30 <\/strong>of his most prominent supporters have fallen on the issue, as of Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n This is the official stance of the Justice Department itself \u2014 as well as the F.B.I., which falls under its purview \u2014 as indicated in the memo released last week. The memo was unsigned, but those who have been expected to answer for it have included Attorney General Pam Bondi<\/strong>, F.B.I. Director Kash Patel<\/strong> and his deputy director, Dan Bongino<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Last year, before Mr. Trump was re-elected, Mr. Bongino had cast doubt over the case, saying, \u201cI don\u2019t trust any story they tell me about Jeffrey Epstein. There is a reason this client list is hidden.\u201d The Epstein case also gave rise to an angry confrontation between Ms. Bondi and Mr. Bongino, according to officials close to the situation.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump <\/strong>himself has also attempted to turn down the volume on the topic, defending Ms. Bondi in a post on Truth Social that encouraged readers to \u201cnot waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.\u201d Many of the thousands of replies to Mr. Trump\u2019s Truth Social post overwhelmingly disagreed with him \u2014\u00a0a rarity on the president\u2019s own platform.<\/p>\n What\u2019s going on with my \u201cboys\u201d and, in some cases, \u201cgals?\u201d They\u2019re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! We\u2019re on one Team, MAGA, and I don\u2019t like what\u2019s happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and \u201cselfish people\u201d are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein. For years, it\u2019s Epstein, over and over again. Why are we giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration, who conned the World with the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, 51 \u201cIntelligence\u201d Agents, \u201cTHE LAPTOP FROM HELL,\u201d and more? They created the Epstein Files, just like they created the FAKE Hillary Clinton\/Christopher Steele Dossier that they used on me, and now my so-called \u201cfriends\u201d are playing right into their hands. Why didn\u2019t these Radical Left Lunatics release the Epstein Files? If there was ANYTHING in there that could have hurt the MAGA Movement, why didn\u2019t they use it? They haven\u2019t even given up on the John F. Kennedy or Martin Luther King, Jr. Files. No matter how much success we have had, securing the Border, deporting Criminals, fixing the Economy, Energy Dominance, a Safer World where Iran will not have Nuclear Weapons, it\u2019s never enough for some people. We are about to achieve more in 6 months than any other Administration has achieved in over 100 years, and we have so much more to do. We are saving our Country and, MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, which will continue to be our complete PRIORITY. The Left is imploding! Kash Patel, and the FBI, must be focused on investigating Voter Fraud, Political Corruption, ActBlue, The Rigged and Stolen Election of 2020, and arresting Thugs and Criminals, instead of spending month after month looking at nothing but the same old, Radical Left inspired Documents on Jeffrey Epstein. LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB \u2014 SHE\u2019S GREAT! The 2020 Election was Rigged and Stolen, and they tried to do the same thing in 2024 \u2014 That\u2019s what she is looking into as AG, and much more. One year ago our Country was DEAD, now it\u2019s the \u201cHOTTEST\u201d Country anywhere in the World. Let\u2019s keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about. Thank you for your attention to this matter!<\/p>\n Despite the overall reaction to Mr. Trump\u2019s post, at least one of his influential supporters seemed satisfied with the official narrative. Dinesh D\u2019Souza<\/strong>, a right-wing commentator who directed a film that spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, agreed with Mr. Trump that it was \u201ctime to focus on more pressing matters.\u201d<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Mr. Trump reiterated that he did not understand the fascination with Mr. Epstein, but also said Ms. Bondi should release \u201cwhatever she thinks is credible\u201d on the case. On Wednesday, he went even further and said he no longer wanted the support of those who believed what he called the \u201cJeffrey Epstein Hoax.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n The initial backlash among many of the MAGA faithful, including Republican elected officials and right-wing media figures and other influencers, focused primarily on Ms. Bondi, who had already lost credibility with the base after previously hyping a release of documents related to the Epstein case that ultimately revealed little new information.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump himself mostly dodged their opprobrium. (Last month, though, some renewed interest in the Epstein case came after Elon Musk\u2019s messy falling-out with the president culminated in Mr. Musk accusing Mr. Trump, in a now-deleted post on X, of being named in the F.B.I.\u2019s files.)<\/p>\n In the days since, many of Mr. Trump\u2019s supporters have remained quick to criticize the administration\u2019s stance that there\u2019s nothing left to uncover regarding the Epstein case while stopping short of calling out or blaming the president himself.<\/p>\n Laura Loomer<\/strong>, a far-right influencer, has long called on Ms. Bondi to resign while absolving Mr. Trump of any responsibility.<\/p>\n Metadata Shows the FBI\u2019s \u2018Raw\u2019 Jeffrey Epstein Prison Video Was Likely Modified<\/p>\n More of a reason for Blondi to resign. <\/p>\n She should just be FIRED. <\/p>\n Trump can like her, but surely he knows she\u2019s bringing him chaos. <\/p>\n She is harming his spectacular image.<\/p>\n Charlie Kirk<\/strong>, Jack Posobiec<\/strong> and Benny Johnson<\/strong>, who host popular MAGA podcasts, have all pushed back aggressively on the official narrative, urging more transparency and casting doubt on the Justice Department memo\u2019s contention that there is nothing left to release. Complicating matters, Mr. Kirk also caused a mini-uproar when he told listeners on Monday that he was done talking about the Epstein case and would \u201ctrust his friends in the administration.\u201d He later said that his words had been misinterpreted and taken out of context and he has continued to discuss the matter.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Mr. Johnson said on X that he, Mr. Kirk and other \u201cpowerful MAGA voices\u201d should be credited with moving the administration to change its approach.<\/p>\n Just got off the phone with top federal law enforcement contact. The change in approach to Epstein has been dramatic. Expect more disclosures. Some very powerful people inside Admin are now pushing for a Special Counsel and a full press briefing on Epstein findings.<\/p>\n Important to note, this drastic change happened after @charliekirk11<\/span> and a number of other powerful MAGA Voices pushed back on the handling of the Epstein case this weekend at the Turning Point conference. They were met with massive roars and applause from the 7000 gathered that could not be ignored.<\/p>\n In short: Our voices are being heard, power to the people \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83d\udc4a\ud83c\udffc<\/p>\n Numerous Republican members of Congress have blamed or called for more transparency from Ms. Bondi or other members of the Trump administration, including Senator John Kennedy<\/strong> of Louisiana, Speaker Mike Johnson<\/strong> of Louisiana, and Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene<\/strong> of Georgia, Anna Paulina Luna<\/strong> of Florida, Mark Alford<\/strong> of Missouri, Keith Self<\/strong> of Texas, Eric Burlison<\/strong> of Missouri, Kat Cammack<\/strong> of Florida, Eli Crane<\/strong> of Arizona, Nancy Mace<\/strong> of South Carolina and Tim Burchett<\/strong> of Tennessee. Others in this group include conservative influencers like Rogan O\u2019Handley<\/strong>, <\/strong>Matt Walsh<\/strong>, Glenn Beck<\/strong>, Liz Wheeler<\/strong>, Alex Jones<\/strong>, Chad Prather<\/strong>, Mike Cernovich<\/strong>, Tucker Carlson<\/strong> and Michael T. Flynn<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n Most of Mr. Trump\u2019s biggest supporters\u00a0are loath to raise questions about his actions, so it is notable that a number of them have called Mr. Trump out directly when it comes to the Epstein case.<\/p>\n Mostly, they have done so delicately and with respectful language, treating their concerns as appeals to the president rather than criticisms of him. For instance, Wayne Allyn Root<\/strong>, a conservative TV and radio host, posted an entreaty to \u201cjust release\u201d the files, preceded by hyperbolic praise.<\/p>\n Trump did something GREAT yesterday…but he still has to deal with Epstein. It’s clear Epstein is not going away. Best 6 months for any president in history. Everything he’s doing is fantastic. Why risk it all on this stupid file? Just release it.<\/p>\n Similarly, Michael T. Flynn<\/strong>, who served as national security adviser for a spell in Mr. Trump\u2019s first administration and remains close to him, urged the president in a post on X to \u201cget ahead of\u201d the public interest in the case, but also assured him that \u201cwe want to support every bit of your fight to save America.\u201d<\/p>\n @realDonaldTrump<\/span> this is why I said the EPSTEIN AFFAIR is not going away anytime soon. Get ahead of this. We want to support every bit of your fight to save America, none more than me. <\/p>\n CHILDREN WILL NOT BE ABUSED BY ANYONE. <\/p>\n No category nor any class of people should ever get away with abusing CHILDREN. <\/p>\n Enough is enough. <\/p>\n ACCOUNTABILITY is coming either here on earth or at the Gates of Hell, which is where I will be waiting for those who abuse a child. <\/p>\n For Others were less measured. Alex Jones<\/strong>, the conspiracy theorist and radio host, asked on X, \u201cWhy is 47 making the worst moves of his tenure in the last 9 years?\u201d (Mr. Jones has also questioned the administration\u2019s actions and blamed outside forces.) The actress Roseanne Barr<\/strong>, one of Mr. Trump\u2019s most loyal supporters, told the president to \u201cread the damn room.\u201d<\/p>\n Those who have called out Mr. Trump personally also included Elon Musk<\/strong> <\/strong>and <\/strong>David Freiheit<\/strong>, an influencer who goes by the handle Viva Frei, as well as Glenn Beck<\/strong> and the right-wing commentators Mike Cernovich<\/strong> and Chad Prather<\/strong>, who also called for greater transparency from the Justice Department.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/span> <\/p>\n Some of Mr. Trump\u2019s supporters have looked further afield for explanation, opining that Mr. Trump and his administration are not (or are not solely) responsible for the unmet public interest in Mr. Epstein\u2019s case. In many instances, these statements began to look like new conspiracy-theory threads.<\/p>\n Roger Stone<\/strong>, a longtime adviser to Mr. Trump, said without evidence on Sunday that the Justice Department under the Biden administration had destroyed evidence relating to the case.<\/p>\n When Kash Patel, our FBI Director, tells us there are no Epstein records \u2014 even though we saw with our own eyes that DVDs and hard drives were seized from Epstein\u2019s properties \u2014 he\u2019s telling us the truth.<\/p>\n I believe that evidence was destroyed by Christopher Wray and Biden\u2019s DOJ.<\/p>\n Some influential figures blamed both Mr. Trump or his administration and<\/em> others outside it. Tucker Carlson<\/strong>, for instance, has been critical of Ms. Bondi\u2019s handling of the case and has pushed back against Mr. Trump\u2019s efforts to tamp down on questions. At a public appearance over the weekend, he also strongly implied Mr. Epstein was engaged in spycraft on behalf of the Israeli government. (Naftali Bennett, the former Israeli prime minister, called Mr. Carlson\u2019s claim \u201ccategorically and totally false.\u201d)<\/p>\n Mr. Trump<\/strong> himself has also been pushing unfounded theories about the Epstein files, including saying that they were a fraudulent creation by former President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other liberal figures.<\/p>\n Others advancing theories about entities outside of the administration include Stephen K. Bannon<\/strong>, the Trump adviser turned influential podcast host; Marjorie Taylor Greene<\/strong>; Tim Burchett<\/strong>; Roseanne<\/strong> Barr<\/strong>; Jack Posobiec<\/strong>; and Dinesh<\/strong> D\u2019Souza<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The crimes and death of Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, have long fed conspiracy theories among some of President Trump\u2019s most ardent supporters. Their interest has reached a crescendo over the past week, after the Trump administration abruptly reversed course<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[1844,3703,743,4014,4461,81],"class_list":{"0":"post-11186","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-crime-justice","8":"tag-case","9":"tag-epstein","10":"tag-fans","11":"tag-maga","12":"tag-talking","13":"tag-trump"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11186\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Viewpoint: The Justice Department\u2019s investigation was complete, and no further action is necessary.<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Viewpoint: The Trump administration is responsible for a perceived lack of transparency about the Epstein case.<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Viewpoint: Mr. Trump himself bears some share of the responsibility.<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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@LeaderJohnThune<\/span>
@SpeakerJohnson<\/span>
Get your troops in line immediately!!!<\/p>\nViewpoint: Forces outside the administration are responsible for gaps in public understanding of the Epstein case.<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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