Why Trump must avoid an Epstein special prosecutor

Daily Mail​

19 hours ago

Donald Trump really does not want his Justice Department to launch an independent review of the Jeffrey Epstein files. He attempted a maneuver to get his MAGA base off his back by directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to make public Epstein-related grand jury testimony. However, the president's supporters won't be satisfied until everything related to the case against the disgraced financier is made public.
Top legal experts said it's not surprising the White House moved to quash the idea gaining steam in MAGA circles that a special counsel could get to the bottom of the notorious sexual trafficker's network. They tell the Daily Mail that it would be in the president's best interest to avoid a special counsel if he wants to put the scandal behind him. And if he appoints one, it could make the scandal that he so desperately wants to put behind him worse.
Others claim it's actually up to Congress to investigate the matter further . Trump, some believe, could risk paying a steep political price should an independent investigator turn up any new information in the case that has his base up in arms. And then there are the cold-hard skeptics who know Trump best. Ty Cobb, who served on Trump's legal team during his first term, said that any investigation would be designed to produce a predetermined outcome favorable to the administration, only infuriating the most ardent Epstein skeptics and conspiracy theorists.
'The only incentive for a special counsel is buying time,' Cobb told the Daily Mail. He said: 'The result is not in question – the result will be laudatory of [Pam] Bondi and Trump and, you know, he won't appoint anyone who wouldn't provide that result.' Heritage Foundation senior legal fellow John Malcolm told the Daily Mail Trump would rather 'just have the whole matter go away.' 'It's causing internal tensions within his administration,' he said. 'He's going to have to make a determination as to whether or not he thinks that he will pay too high a political price just to leave things the way they are.'
The White House clarified Thursday that Trump does not support appointing a special prosecutor to review files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. It signals a shift in the president's thinking after he considered having his Attorney General Pam Bondi appoint one a day earlier following outrage from his MAGA base. 'The president would not recommend a special prosecutor in the Epstein case. That's how he feels,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Daily Mail in the daily briefing. The easier move is to let Congress hash it out.
'I think the best thing to do would be for Congress to investigate the Epstein matter,' law professor John Yoo tells the Daily Mail. Yoo said that the committee could be comprised of those skeptical of the DOJ's findings and conclude with a report of their findings after the review of sensitive law enforcement documents. 'It could have hearings where officials like Pam Bondi can explain under oath their past statements,' Yoo added. But in an attempt to quell surging criticism from even his most loyal supporters, Trump is now instructing his AG to release more.
'Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. He added: 'This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!' Trump has consistently railed against special counsels and used them as his personal punching bag when seeking to discredit any rivals' claims against him. He says the 'Jeffrey Epstein hoax' is another Democratic initiative to divide Republicans comparing it to the 2016 election collusion probe and the claims that Hunter Biden's laptop was a Russian disinformation campaign.
Still, the president's base remains furious over the Justice Department's botched review of the Epstein files. No matter how hard Trump tries to get his supporters and loyalists to move on, they aren't buying the DOJ's conclusion that Epstein killed himself in prison and that there was no 'client list' of high-profile co-conspirators in his child sexual trafficking ring. Amid the continued demand for an un-redacted release of all Epstein investigation materials, Attorney General Pam Bondi fired federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York Maurene Comey this week. Some feel the move was an effort to get the heat off Bondi's back, though no official reason was provided. The DOJ declined to comment to the Daily Mail on the decision.
When a reporter asked Trump on Wednesday: 'Would you consider appointing a special counsel to investigate the Jeffrey Epstein investigation?,' Trump said he had nothing to do with it. As his base remains adamant in the search for what remains to be released, far-right media voice Laura Loomer led the calls for a special counsel appointment. It appeared to be something Trump could do to put the case to rest for good. But legal experts explain why this is ill-advised – and some express skepticism over whether any investigator appointed by Trump's team could remain impartial anyway.
The DOJ did not respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment on whether Attorney General Bondi is considering the appointment of a special counsel in the Epstein case. And the White House referred the Daily Mail to the DOJ when asked if Trump was pushing for an independent review, before later revealing at Thursday's press briefing that he doesn't want one. Leavitt said she is not aware of any conversations Trump has had with Bondi about the potential of a special counsel appointment. Malcolm, who is Vice President of the Heritage Foundation's Institute for Constitutional Government, told the Daily Mail: 'There's no reason why the Department of Justice can't make these decisions on its own' on what to release from the Epstein files.
'On the other hand, if this is a political football, and either President Trump or Attorney General Bondi would like to get a little bit of distance – political distance – between, you know, to support the ultimate decision. That would be a way to do it,' he added. Still, he predicted that Trump and Bondi would decide not to go to an independent investigator if they felt the political cost would be 'severely damaging.' The president told JustTheNews this week that he would support a special counsel to look into weaponization of the DOJ against conservatives in the 2016 elections – and in that same interview with John Solomon said he wouldn't mind someone looking into the Epstein case. But it appeared that Trump was referring to an investigation into Democrats for creating what he now calls the 'Jeffrey Epstein hoax.'
'It's all the same scam. They could look at this Jeffrey Epstein hoax also, because that's the same stuff that's all put out by Democrats,' he said. He also expressed concerns former intelligence and federal law enforcement officials could have tampered with evidence surrounding the Epstein case. CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 asked attorney and legal commentator Elie Honig about the potential for a special prosecutor. 'It makes no sense,' Honig responded. 'It would be purely a fig leaf. It would cure nothing. It would solve nothing.'