The conspiracy-driven culture that helped Donald Trump rise to power is now targeting him, as the president faces a surge of outrage over the Justice Department’s release of a report that debunks years of lurid claims about Jeffrey Epstein.
For years, Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi repeatedly promised that they would expose an explosive trove of Epstein-related evidence. In February, Bondi staged a White House photo op, handing out binders to conservative influencers labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1.” But last week, the Justice Department and the FBI issued a joint memo concluding there was no evidence that Epstein kept a secret list of powerful men involved in sex trafficking. The memo also said Epstein died by suicide in 2019, not by murder, contradicting conspiracy theories that Trump himself often amplified. The New York Times reported that the document immediately fueled anger across the president’s base. According to Politico, tensions inside the administration erupted at a meeting where FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino were pressed by officials about whether the FBI had been blocked from releasing more information. Afterward, Bongino skipped work last Friday and told colleagues he was considering quitting. Trump told reporters Sunday, “I think so,” when asked if Bongino was still serving, adding, “He’s in good shape.” Patel posted Saturday that he would remain in the administration, acknowledging, “The conspiracy theories just aren’t true, never have been.”
As prominent pro-Trump figures fumed, Bondi became the focus of the backlash. At the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa, Fox News host Laura Ingraham asked attendees whether they were satisfied with the investigation’s conclusion. The crowd responded with boos. Megyn Kelly called Bondi “the villain in this story,” saying, “You either believe that Pam Bondi was telling the truth then, or that she’s telling the truth now, but both cannot be true.” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Florida Republican, warned Saturday, “Pam, if you can’t do your job, we’ll find someone who will.” Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon told The Daily Mail that Epstein was “the key that picks the lock on so many things —not just individuals, but also institutions.” Meanwhile, Mike Cernovich, who had been given one of the Epstein binders, wrote online, “No one is buying it. No one is dropping it.” Trump has defended Bondi, inviting her to join him in his box at the FIFA Club World Cup final and praising her on Truth Social. The president also tried to shift blame to Democrats, writing, “They created the Epstein Files, just like they created the FAKE Hillary Clinton/Christopher Steele Dossier,” and asking why “Radical Left Lunatics” never released the supposed evidence themselves.
But the frustration has only grown. InfoWars host Alex Jones called on Trump to “release everything,” warning, “This is not going away. It’s only blowing up ten times bigger.” Matt Walsh described Epstein as proof that “the corrupt and the powerful are never held accountable.”
Tucker Carlson, who has repeatedly defended Trump in the past, told NBC News he was disgusted by the Justice Department’s response. “Rather than just admit that, Pam Bondi made a bunch of ludicrous claims on cable news shows that she couldn’t back up, and this current outrage is the result,” Carlson said. Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate, now serving a 20-year sentence for sex trafficking, is reportedly willing to testify before Congress. The Daily Mail quoted a source close to Maxwell saying, “She would welcome the chance to tell the American public the truth.” In an interview with Politico, far-right activist Laura Loomer called for a special counsel to take over the Epstein investigation. “I don’t think that she has been transparent or done a good job handling this issue,” Loomer said of Bondi.
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