The Trump-Epstein files controversy, explained

The blind loyalty of some Donald Trump supporters seems to have reached a limit. After Pam Bondi’s DOJ and the president announced that the investigation into deceased felon Jeffrey Epstein had not found the rumored “client list” with the names of individuals who allegedly obtained sexual services from minors, and that the financier had taken his own life, the MAGA sphere has turned against the administration and is demanding answers about the case. Especially after it was revealed that the Epstein prison video footage they released had a couple of minutes cut out, and that it was not the unedited material they had claimed it to be.

Despite the fact that the president was one of the main proponents of the theory that there was a “client list,” he now blames the Democratic Party for making up the story as a “hoax” and has insulted those of his supporters who are unhappy with the administration’s findings.

In response, on July 17, Trump asked the Justice Department to release more documents about Epstein and announced that he will sue the Wall Street Journal for publishing an alleged letter from him to Epstein that he claims is fake.

Here are the main keys to this controversy:

Who was Jeffrey Epstein?

Jeffrey Epstein was an American financier who is now known for having built a child sex exploitation ring that operated for decades. His first arrest was in 2008 for soliciting prostitution of a minor in Florida; however, he avoided charges thanks to a controversial plea deal and served 13 months in prison with work release. In 2019, he was arrested again, this time for federal child sex trafficking.

On August 10, it was reported that he had died by suicide in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York. However, this version was called into question by an analysis commissioned by his lawyers and a pathologist hired by them, who pointed out that Epstein’s injuries were more consistent with a case of homicide, and that the financier was killed to avoid revealing secrets of others involved in his sexual exploitation network.

Investigations revealed that Epstein abused minors at his mansions in New York, Florida, New Mexico and on his private island in the Caribbean. He also arranged meetings between powerful men and the victims. His ties to political figures and elites such as President Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew of the United Kingdom and Donald Trump, sparked interest in a “client list,” which would confirm who were the people who hired his illegal sexual services.

Who is Ghislaine Maxwell?

Ghislaine Maxwell, a British-American socialite and daughter of the tycoon Robert Maxwell, was Epstein’s main collaborator. For at least a decade (1994-2004), Maxwell helped recruit, groom and in some cases directly abuse minors for Epstein and his associates. She was arrested in 2020 and, in December 2021, a federal jury convicted her of five felonies, including child sex trafficking and conspiracy. Shortly after her arrest, President Trump stated that he “wished her well” at her trial.

In 2022, she was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The defense has attempted to appeal her conviction, but the Justice Department recently asked the Supreme Court to reject her request. At her trial, there was detailed testimony from victims confirming how Maxwell gained the trust of vulnerable girls to take them to Epstein.

What was the connection between Epstein and Donald Trump?

Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein met in the 1980s, as they were part of the same social circles in Palm Beach and New York. In 2002, Trump spoke publicly about Epstein; he called him “a terrific guy” and mentioned that he liked “young women.” In subsequent interviews, Trump claimed that he had not had contact with Epstein for many years prior to his arrest in 2019. However, Epstein told Michael Wolff that he was the president’s closest friend for 10 years, and a notebook from the financier included 14 phone numbers for Trump, his wife Melania and others close to him. He also said he traveled several times on his plane dubbed the “Lolita express,” in which he shuttled young women and guests to his private island, Little St. James.

Reports mention that Trump visited Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion at least once, but there are also records of Trump kicking him out of his Mar-a-Lago club for inappropriate behavior.

In 2016, a woman under the pseudonym “Katie Johnson” (also called “Jane Doe”), filed a civil lawsuit accusing Epstein and Trump of sexually assaulting her when she was 13 years old, during parties hosted by Epstein in Manhattan in 1994. In the original lawsuit filed in California in April 2016, the plaintiff alleged that she was lured to the parties in exchange for a promise of a modeling career, and that both Trump and Epstein raped and subjected her to sexual assault, threats and forcible imprisonment. That lawsuit was dismissed that May for failing to meet legal requirements. It did not go to trial, and attorney Lisa Bloom, initially involved, disassociated herself from the case.

After Elon Musk left the Trump administration, the businessman claimed that the president was part of Epstein’s list and that was one of the reasons it had not been made public.

Epstein and the current Trump administration

During his 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump and his closest allies promoted theories about the “client list” linked to Epstein, and promised to release classified documents from the case. Figures such as Dan Bongino, Kash Patel and Pam Bondi —who now hold key roles in his administration— pushed the narrative that the FBI and DOJ were hiding compromising information about elite personalities.

However, when his own administration’s Justice Department concluded that Epstein had committed suicide and that no such list existed, Trump changed his tune and called the whole thing a “hoax.” This generated a rift with some of his most ardent supporters, who felt betrayed. Conservative media and pro-MAGA accounts expressed disappointment. Reports even indicate that Bongino has said he wants to resign from the FBI, due to the handling of the Epstein case. Trump went so far as to insult those who believed in the conspiracy as “weak” and “stupid.”

On July 17, Trump announced that he had asked the Department of Justice to produce additional documents related to Epstein, including grand jury testimony. Such action usually requires court approval, so it is unclear whether Trump has authorized the release of those documents.

Meanwhile, the president said he will sue The Wall Street Journal over an article that published an alleged birthday letter sent to Epstein by Trump, which includes suggestive language. Trump claims that it is “fake” and that he had asked the newspaper not to publish it.

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