Broken promises and conspiracy theories: Why the ‘Epstein files' have caused a MAGA firestom
'One of the things that I think has really captured the public's attention is that weeks after his arrest, he was found dead in his New York jail cell, and the authorities quickly determined that it was a suicide.
'But, there have been all sorts of theories and questions as to whether or not in fact it was a suicide.
'The Justice Department and the FBI had committed to releasing the investigative file from the Epstein case. This is actually something that Donald Trump, who is himself an associate of Jeffrey Epstein, had talked about on the campaign trail.
'This was a pledge that we had heard repeatedly from Attorney General Pam Bondi.
'In February, she was asked in a Fox News interview whether it was true that she was gonna release the 'client list' and she nodded her head and said that it was sitting on her desk. She has since said she was referring to the entire Epstein case file as being on her desk,' he said.
Political figures from both sides of the aisle have been scathing in Bondi's decision not to release the files. House Speaker and Trump ally Mike Johnson has called for transparency, as has staunch Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene.
'The only thing that has been released was a recording of Jeffrey Epstein's jail cell, and the recording was meant to definitively put to rest any suspicion about the circumstances of his death. But, even that contains a missing minute.
" But beyond that, the Justice Department, in a two-page memo last week, said it had concluded that it wasn't gonna release any other information because the materials reviewed were pornographic in nature and not fit for public consumption," Tucker said.
So, will this be the end of the Epstein saga? Or will the conspiracies enter the realm where the Kennedy assassination and the moon landing are still widely disputed?
'The Trump administration hopes that the story's over. The Attorney General appeared in an unrelated news conference today, and she wouldn't take any questions about it,' Tucker said.
'It's hard to say whether this will have that same kind of staying power, but there's no question that the Trump administration is really working hard to turn the page.'
Listen to the full episode to hear more about the Epstein files and whether they're ever likely to be released.
The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.
You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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