These MAGA voices want you to know they are done talking about Epstein
But others still have their teeth sunk in the storyline.
The big picture: Trump-world influencers and the president's base were blindsided by the Justice Department and FBI's conclusions that the disgraced financier did not have a "client list" and died by suicide, sparking an avalanche of anger — with Attorney General Pam Bondi as their top target.
Trump has tried to stifle the outrage, writing in a lengthy Truth Social post Saturday, "selfish people" are trying to hurt the administration, "all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein," who he described as "somebody that nobody cares about."
Many key voices on the right certainly do still care about Epstein and aren't buying the administration's dismissal. But some seem to be backing away from the current discontent.
Driving the news: Conservative activist Charlie Kirk said on his show on Monday that he's "done talking about Epstein for the time being."
He continued, saying he'd "trust" his "friends in the government to do what needs to be done, solve it, ball's in their hands." Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, noted he'd said "plenty this last weekend."
At TPUSA's Student Action Summit over the weekend, attendees expressed deep skepticism over the administration's rollout of information about the convicted sex trafficker, Axios' Tal Axelrod reported.
In a post on X, Kirk added, "I discussed how the communication and transparency could be much improved, how the base wasn't going to just move on, and provided options for ways forward. Now, I'm giving them space to operate."
CNN reported that Trump spoke with Kirk over the weekend.
Zoom out: Dinesh D'Souza, noting that while unanswered questions remain, said on his Monday podcast episode that it's "time to move on."
"I think that right now it seems pretty clear we're not gonna get more information out of the government," he said. "They have closed the case. Unless Ghislaine Maxwell, who's in prison, speaks out and she's free to speak out."
Yes, but: Kirk has since reposted and shared several posts insinuating there will be more disclosures or transparency from the administration.
He shared a clip from a conversation between Lara Trump and influencer Benny Johnson in which the president's daughter-in-law says she believes there will "probably be more coming on this."
"As I said today on the show, next steps are forthcoming," Kirk wrote.
The divide also threatens to spill over into Capitol Hill, Axios' Andrew Solender and Kate Santaliz report, where House Democrats have seized on the friction and attempted to force a vote on making Bondi release all records related to Epstein.
While some GOP members are echoing the scrutiny shared online over the rollout, others have flocked to the AG's defense and don't seem to want to touch the issue dividing the MAGA base.
What they're saying: Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) characterized the Epstein conversation as "nonsense" on "CNN News Central" Monday.
Pressed by CNN's John Berman on what the "nonsense" was, Lawler replied, "Frankly, the fact that you're even covering this ... I don't even understand frankly ... why we're spending a lot of time on Jeffrey Epstein."
What we're watching: There are possible routes the White House may take to mitigate the damage, Axios' Marc Caputo reported.
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