Epstein 'cover-up' civil war exposes deep fractures and dirty secrets at the heart of MAGA
Fast-forward to five months later and Donald Trump's cabinet is cracking wide open with FBI chiefs Dan Bongino and Kash Patel threatening to resign unless Attorney General Pam Bondi is fired.
The biggest names in MAGA media - Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly and Steve Bannon - have sounded their colossal mega horns over the escalating crisis.
Now ugly fractures are emerging and dirty secrets are being leaked across Washington DC.
In the twisted web of Epstein conspiracy theories, heated anti-Israel rhetoric has emerged at a time when Trump is already facing criticism over supporting Benjamin Netanyahu 's bombing campaign.
MAGA lawmakers like, like Marjorie Taylor Greene, has been accused of anti-Semitism, while former Fox host Carlson is facing claims that he is taking money from the Qatari government. Greene and Carlson vehemently deny the allegations.
At the end of February, the White House invited a cadre of conservative influencers for a visit, and presented them with big white binders which purportedly contained the oft-touted 'Epstein files'.
The photo-op was led by Bondi in the Oval Office and she later assured the public that her Department of Justice had the dossiers which were being reviewed for release.
But it soon turned out that there was nothing at all substantive in the white folders handed to the influencers - and the debacle became known as 'binder gate.'
Bondi last week was forced to retract her statement that the files were 'sitting on my desk' and instead told the American people that there was, in fact, no 'client list'.
The DOJ released a video showing the outside of Epstein's cell at the Manhattan jail where he allegedly hung himself.
But Trump's MAGA base is still fuming that the Epstein Files have not been entirely released to the public.
Former Fox News personality turned independent journalist Tucker Carlson is one the biggest voices sowing division in Trump's MAGA-right.
During a speech at Turning Point USA's Student Action Summit this weekend, Carlson went after the Trump admin for the alleged Epstein 'cover-up.'
Conservative internet personality Arynne Wexler told the Daily Mail that if you listen to Carlson's latest speech at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit, 'he's like the narcissistic, toxic ex-boyfriend, where nothing's ever good enough and the goalpost is ever moving and you can never reach it.
'He's complaining that Trump hasn't done enough.'
Wexler also added that Carlson 'even insulted Riley Gaines, talking about how men on women's sports teams don't matter.'
'I mean, there was really nothing about what he said that sounded conservative or like of the right', Wexler concluded.
Conservative podcaster Megyn Kelly, a one-time Trump enemy turned ally during the 2024 election wrote on X that she was 'sure it's a relief for Pam Bondi to hear the president is still in her corner. Unfortunately, huge swaths of the party are not. She repeatedly misled on Epstein. Then didn't have the courage to explain herself. Suddenly, she's camera shy & no Qs allowed. Good luck!'
War Room podcast host and a former White House strategist from Trump's first term Steve Bannon noted in his own speech at the Turning Point USA Summit that in his view, 'Epstein is a key that picks the lock on so many things, not just individuals, but also Institutions, Intelligence, Institutions, Foreign Governments, and who was working with him on our Intelligence Apparatus and in our Government.'
Foreign influence in America's government and politics is something that has been questioned on both the left and right. But, some of the biggest characters who point fingers at others have the biggest questions about their own backers.
During Carlson's Turning Point speech, he made claims that both Epstein and long-term Democrat donor turned Trump 2024 backer Bill Ackman only gained prominence, and in turn wealth, due to secret ties to the Israeli government.
Ackman notably promptly refuted Carlson's claims, additionally stating on X that although he used to enjoy Carlson's Fox show, now the media mogul 'has gone off the reservation, in particular about Iran, Israel, and the Middle East.'
'Some say his politics relate to where his business' funding comes from and some say he just doesn't like Jews. I have no idea what motivates him and why he appears to be a changed man.' Ackman added.
Carlson addressed allegations that he was being funded by Qatar in a recent episode of his show, stating that 'for the record, of course, I've never taken a dollar from anybody. I don't even have investors.'
In 2023, the Daily Mail reported that Carlson's independent media venture was backed to the tune of $15 million by Omeed Malik, an American citizen with an Iranian mother and Pakistani father.
Carlson and Malik had previous experience in the media business together. In 2020, Mailk joined the Daily Caller as a minority investor/owner and contributing editor.
Within Trump's own administration, characters loyal to the MAGA base are not afraid to point fingers at their own colleagues.
President Donald Trump's FBI head Kash Patel and deputy Dan Bongino are both ready to call it quits if Attorney General Pam Bondi keeps her job after the debacle over releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Bongino, the FBI's deputy director, made the ultimatum after an epic clash with Bondi on Wednesday over the Justice Department's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, the Daily Mail revealed this week.
The rift was so bad that Bongino took the day off work on Friday, leading some to think that he had already left his post, Axios first reported.
Meanwhile, Trump's congressional allies are doing their best to play both sides on the issue of Epstein, hoping to remain in the good graces of both Trump and his base, which is undoubtedly splintering.
Florida Congresswoman Marjorie-Taylor Greene, one of the typically most MAGA-aligned voices on the right said during an appearance on Real America's Voice (RAV) last week that she for one wasn't buying that there wasn't more to the Epstein story.
'I think the Department of Justice and the FBI has more explaining to do. This is Jeffrey Epstein; this is the most famous pedophile in modern-day history,' Taylor Greene told RAV.
'And people are absolutely not going to accept just a memo that was written that says there is no client list,' Taylor Greene concluded.
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