Trump administration delves into MAGA distractions in deviation from the so-called Epstein files
Epstein died in his jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges related to the trafficking and sexual abuse of dozens of minor girls. His life and death have been the center of conspiracy theories, notably among Trump's base, as the feds have been tight-lipped about the evidence collected.
The Trump administration has been facing backlash after the Justice Department and FBI said in a memo released earlier this month there was no client list of Epstein's associates who may have partaken in his crimes and Epstein did indeed die by suicide.
Trump announced last week he had requested Attorney General Pam Bondi to release certain Epstein files, 'subject to court approval.'
'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. This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!' he wrote on Truth Social.
Trump and his administration have instead worked to focus on other issues, from civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. 's assassination to the names of Washington and Cleveland sports teams, to one of his Democratic foes, former President Barack Obama.
The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment.
On Sunday, Trump took to social media to attack Senator Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, Samantha Power, former administrator of the U.S.A.I.D., and he also posted a bizarre AI-generated video of Obama being arrested and thrown in jail.
Tulsi Gabbard, who told host Maria Bartiromo on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures Obama had orchestrated a 'years-long coup' to keep Trump from the White House.
On Friday, Gabbard announced she was referring Obama administration officials, including ex-FBI Director James Comey, to the Justice Department for prosecution over allegations they had 'manufactured' intelligence to substantiate the idea that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election to help Trump beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Trump won the election over Clinton and became president in 2017.
House Intelligence Committee ranking member Jim Himes, a Connecticut Democrat, rebuked Gabbard's claims.
'It's a day that ends with 'y' and Donald Trump desperately wants to change the subject, so Director Gabbard is rehashing decade-old false claims about the Obama Administration,' Himes said in a statement Monday. Himes said every 'legitimate' probe into the matter found 'no evidence of politicization and endorsed the findings of the 2016 Intelligence Community Assessment.'
Trump has also called for the Washington Commanders and the Cleveland Guardians to revert their names to the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians, respectively.
He even went as far as to threaten the Commanders' new Washington, D.C. stadium deal, writing on Truth Social Sunday: "I may put a restriction on them that if they don't change the name back to the original 'Washington Redskins,' and get rid of the ridiculous moniker, 'Washington Commanders,' I won't make a deal for them to build a Stadium in Washington.'
On Monday, the Trump administration released more than 230,000 pages of federal documents related to Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1968 assassination.
Former Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger, a Republican who has been critical of Trump, called out the irony.
'Trump releases MLK Jr files…. Didn't limit it to 'pertinent' and 'grand jury.' So do the same for Epstein,' he wrote on X late Monday.
Also on Monday, the Justice Department announced it honored Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley's request for information related to the FBI's handling of its probe into Clinton's emails.
The FBI had investigated Clinton's use of a private email server for official communications during her time as secretary of state under Obama. No charges were filed against Clinton.
House Democrats have also criticized their Republican colleagues for blocking efforts to force the release of the Epstein files.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told progressive political YouTuber Jack Cocchiarella Monday, 'For years Republicans promised to release the Epstein files…now they have the opportunity…and they refuse to do so,' adding, 'I have a simple question for the Speaker and Republican leaders and members of the House of Representatives on the GOP side: What are you hiding from the American People?"
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, wrote on X late Monday, 'Ummm so let me get this straight: Republicans have ground Congress to a halt and are considering adjourning the entire House for 6 weeks to avoid releasing the info they have on Epstein? What is going on here?'
She was responding to an X post from Politico's Meredith Lee Hill, in which she wrote, citing unnamed sources, the House Rules Committee will likely not meet at all this week amid the Epstein drama and other issues. Congress will recess for August.
Hill said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, 'confirms to me it's 'not likely' Rules return - meaning House would leave without advancing immigration and several other bills.'
Most Americans think the Trump administration is covering up evidence in the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein 's federal case, according to a new poll.
A poll conducted by The Economist and YouGov from July 11 to 14 found 67 percent of Americans believe the government is hiding evidence related to the late financier. Only 8 percent of respondents believe the government is not covering up evidence about Epstein, while 25 percent are unsure.
When asked if the government should release all documents relating to the feds' Epstein case, 79 percent of respondents said it should. Only 5 percent said the government shouldn't release the files, and 17 percent were unsure.
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It remains to be seen, however, whether the Justice Department will ask Maxwell to testify and whether new evidence will yield any prosecutions. MAGA supporters have been demanding that Trump be more transparent about the Epstein files after he campaigned on making all the information public. Legal experts, including Dershowitz, have cast doubt on the usefulness of grand jury transcripts, urging the DOJ instead to release FBI interview notes from Epstein's victims. Court filings previously revealed that some of Epstein's more than 1,000 identified victims were groomed to recruit others - a chilling tactic that created a web of silence and complicity that prosecutors have struggled to untangle since Epstein's death in 2019. Maxwell's reemergence comes at a critical moment. Earlier this year, the Justice Department and FBI raided Epstein's former properties, collecting what they described as 'voluminous materials.' But just weeks later, they released a joint memo dismissing long-running conspiracy theories, stating there was 'no incriminating client list' and no evidence of blackmail. That walk-back sparked outrage among Trump's base, especially after Attorney General Pam Bondi had previously promised to release 'a lot of names' and 'a lot of flight logs.' MAGA supporters were particularly enraged that no new material was produced in the Epstein files review and that Trump's DOJ found no existence of a so-called 'client list' of high profile co-conspirators. The president even started calling the whole ordeal the 'Epstein hoax' and claimed Democrats were to blame for stoking conspiracies in an effort to divide Republicans. Now, under pressure, the administration reversed course. 'President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence,' Blanche wrote on social media, before asking a federal court to unseal grand jury transcripts from both Epstein's and Maxwell's cases. The judges in charge - Richard Berman and Paul Engelmayer - have ordered the DOJ to submit its arguments by July 29, and have given Maxwell, a representative of Epstein's estate, and the victims until August 5 to file their responses. Speaking from the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said he supports the outreach. 'I think it would be something - sounds appropriate to do, yeah,' he told reporters. The president has called parts of the Epstein scandal a 'hoax,' and has publicly criticized his own supporters who have become fixated on the idea of a government cover-up. But he has also told Bondi and Blanche to pursue all legitimate evidence. Just last week, the DOJ opposed Maxwell's request to have the Supreme Court review her case, with her lawyers claiming she should have never been charged because of a 2008 plea deal the courts struck with Epstein. But Maxwell's team has now hinted she may be ready to cooperate now that most of her appeals have failed. Maxwell's journey from international socialite to inmate has been as dramatic as it is disturbing. Once a fixture of British high society and New York elite circles, she rubbed shoulders with royalty, billionaires, and political power players. After her father, media tycoon Robert Maxwell, died in 1991 under suspicious circumstances, Ghislaine found herself under the wing of Epstein - eventually becoming his confidante, girlfriend, and accomplice. In court, four women testified that Maxwell groomed them as teenagers for Epstein and, at times, participated in the abuse herself. She was convicted in 2021 on charges of sex trafficking, conspiracy, and transporting a minor for illegal sexual activity. She did not testify at her trial, but gave two depositions in earlier civil cases, in which she denied wrongdoing and accused Epstein's most vocal accusers of fabricating stories. Her brother, Ian Maxwell, who has publicly defended her since her 2020 arrest, claimed this week that the infamous 'client list' is a myth. 'I don't think it constitutes a list of alleged people to whom young minor girls were trafficked,' he told Piers Morgan Uncensored. 'Ghislaine's position has been: she doesn't believe such a list existed.' Ian also warned of the danger Maxwell faces behind bars. 'Prisons are very dangerous places,' he said. 'We know from Ghislaine that there are serious staff shortages and more dangerous higher-risk-category prisoners now being admitted.' Maxwell's legal team has long argued that she should never have been prosecuted, citing the 2007 non-prosecution agreement Epstein signed in Florida, which extended immunity to his co-conspirators. But federal prosecutors in New York successfully argued that the deal did not apply outside Florida, and moved forward with the case that ultimately led to her conviction.
