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- The case of the dead man: Epstein's files have become the main item on the agenda in the United States
The case of the dead man: Epstein's files have become the main item on the agenda in the United States
The scandal surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein case has not subsided: Donald Trump's reaction to it not only did not bring the desired result, but also escalated discussions within American society. During the 2024 election campaign, Trump promised to declassify the available data, but has not yet done so. Now, not only Republicans who feel deceived are speaking out, but also representatives of the Democratic Party. Congressmen and "opinion leaders" are demanding that the US President and Attorney General Pam Bondi disclose the details of the process. Izvestia has figured out what is happening in this regard in the United States and what role the American president plays in the scandal that the whole world is talking about.
Publication of Epstein's files: What is happening in the American government
Donald Trump has called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to ask the court to release the testimony of the grand jury in the Jeffrey Epstein case, the largest scandal since the Monica Lewinsky affair. Earlier, the head of the American state faced growing pressure from Democrats and criticism from fellow Republicans. Representatives of both parties accuse the US president of having ties to Epstein, and in some cases, of covering up crimes committed by him.
In response to the increasing public pressure, the president said that the whole story was essentially an invention of his political opponents.
"Given the ridiculous publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to provide all necessary testimony to the grand jury, subject to court approval. This scam, organized by the Democrats, must be stopped right now!" said Donald Trump.
Commenting on this statement, the head of the Department of Justice (in the United States, this position combines the powers of the attorney general) said that she was "ready to apply to the court with a request to publish the transcripts of the grand jury meeting."
Nevertheless, Trump is confident that the release of the transcript of the hearings will not suit the Democrats. "Even if the court gives its full and unconditional consent, nothing will satisfy the troublemakers and radical leftist lunatics who make this request," the US president wrote on the Truth Social network.
The headquarters of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington
Recently, representatives of the Democratic Party demanded that the office of the 47th president publish the remaining materials on the Jeffrey Epstein criminal trial. The House of Representatives believes that Donald Trump is somehow connected with the crimes of the businessman, and some are even sure that he ordered his murder - on August 10, 2019, the billionaire was found dead in a prison cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center. Jeffrey Epstein faced up to 40 years in prison.
Earlier, the Axios portal reported that the US Department of Justice and the FBI had not found evidence of attempts by the billionaire to blackmail representatives of the global elite, a list of clients, as well as any evidence of theories about his murder.
The publication of materials about Jeffrey Epstein's crimes related to child molestation and human trafficking is one of Donald Trump's election promises. Some of the data was posted back in February, but their publication (and the way it was carried out) from the main media sensation was perceived by American society as a mockery of justice.
Earlier, during the February publication of Epstein's files, Bondi announced on Fox News that the coveted client lists "are on her desk." In addition, she talked about the "tens of thousands" of videos made on the infamous "Epstein Island."
However, a few months after these statements, White House press Secretary Caroline Leavitt announced that the materials mentioned did not exist, and later Bondi herself said that she had "expressed herself incorrectly." By "Epstein's lists," she allegedly meant not tables with the billionaire's clients, but all the data about the process.
On July 15, Bondi refused to answer journalists' questions about her department's position on the process. "I'm not going to talk about Epstein," she said at a press conference dedicated to the fight against drug trafficking in the United States.
A couple of days later, a number of American media outlets wrote that the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kesh Patel, was calling on Bondi to resign due to disagreements over the Epstein case. In response, the head of the US Department of Justice stated that she would "remain in office as long as the president wants." The Daily Mail reported that Patel himself, along with his deputy Dan Bongino, are considering leaving the service if Bondi continues to serve as attorney general. This rumor was later refuted by the Director of the FBI himself. "Conspiracy theories do not correspond to reality and have never corresponded. It is an honor for me to serve US President Donald Trump, and I will continue to do so as long as he asks me to," Patel wrote on the social network.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondy
The Daily Beast, citing the biographer of the President of the United States, Michael Wolfe, reported that the head of state was "happy to ignore" the controversy surrounding this issue. According to the writer, senior officials from the presidential administration, exposing Epstein, did not understand that "by doing so, they would most likely expose Trump." After the president expressed dissatisfaction with the activities of his associates, they tried to hide the mistake, saying that they had no compromising material on Donald Trump.
In an interview with reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, the 47th president said he "would also like" to see transparency in the case. Trump believes that the credibility of the facts is "very important" for the prosecution, as well as "credible evidence."
The US president also stated that he wants to transfer the authority to make further decisions on the Epstein case to Pam Bondi. "It's up to her to decide. She should release whatever she deems reliable," Trump said.
Maureen Comey's dismissal: what is known
The scandal over the "Epstein files" led to "purges" in the government agencies of the United States. ABC News and The Washington Post, citing sources, reported that the U.S. Department of Justice has fired the prosecutor of the Southern District of New York, Maureen Comey. She has worked on high-profile cases of Jeffrey Epstein, as well as producer P.Diddy (real name is Sean Combs) and a financier.
Former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation James Comey
Trump has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that Maureen Comey is in office. The US president also said that he would like to see the ex-prosecutor in his administration. According to ABC News, this could mark "another reshuffle in the country's most influential federal prosecutor's office." According to foreign media reports, Maureen Komi was fired without explanation.
The fact is that Maureen Comey is the daughter of former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation James Comey. Trump's cabinet publicly suspects him of fabricating materials on the Epstein case, as well as forgery in the case of "Russian interference" in the 2016 presidential election (Russiagate). On July 9, an official investigation was launched into the former head of the FBI and former CIA director John Brennan.
Trump, ratings, split
Meanwhile, according to a YouGov poll, 80% of Americans demand that the names of all participants in Jeffrey Epstein's parties held in Manhattan and a private island in the Caribbean Sea be fully declassified. Two thirds of respondents accuse Trump of trying to silence the details of the process.
However, the level of support for opponents from the Democratic Party still remains at a historic low: 40% versus 48%. Within the "donkeys" (the historical nickname of the American Democrats), the split between the left and the centrists is now intensifying.
Elon Musk
The white holes in the case, the confusion in the testimony and the stretching of the process — all this significantly undermines the trust of the supporters of the current American president. Trump's former ally Elon Musk is also adding fuel to the fire. He calls on the administration of the 47th President of the United States to publish information about the Epstein case. According to a CNN poll, 56% of Democrats and 40% of Republicans remained dissatisfied with the information provided.
On July 18, representatives of the conservative Republican Caucus of Freedom issued a resolution in which they called for the full disclosure of the Epstein case. Despite the illusory legal prospects of this document, it demonstrates the existing divergence of views in the ranks of the Republican Party.
"A wonderful secret"
A new act of confrontation was the publication of The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), owned by Rupert Murdoch. It showed a postcard with a drawing of erotic content, which Trump allegedly sent to Epstein on the latter's 50th birthday. The letter ends with the words: "Happy birthday — and may every day become another wonderful secret," the WSJ article says.
After the controversial article, Trump filed a lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch and his Dow Jones & Company, which includes The Wall Street Journal newspaper. The object of the claim is called "slander and insults." The head of the United States stated on his Truth Social network that the lawsuit against Murdoch was filed not just for personal interests, but for the benefit of the entire American society as an example of the fight against fake news.
"This lawsuit is being filed not only on behalf of your beloved president, but also in order to continue to defend (rights. — Izvestia) to all Americans who will no longer tolerate the offensive offenses of the fake media," Trump wrote.
The series "Friends"
Jeffrey Epstein was friends with former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump. In 2002, in an interview with New York Magazine, the future president said that he had known the billionaire "for 15 years" and considered him a "great guy" who was "a lot of fun" to spend time with. "They even say that he loves beautiful women — just like me — mostly young ones," Donald Trump told reporters at the time.
Malek Dudakov, an American political scientist, writes that the current US president really knew Epstein and, as it turns out now, helped him achieve better conditions of detention after his arrest in 2008.
"Trump really knew Epstein—they were both part of the Florida billionaire crowd. In 2008, when the first case against Epstein was opened, Trump agreed to testify against him. Then Epstein was put in a VIP cell in Miami prison, where he was even allowed to move to his luxurious mansion during the weekend," the expert wrote on the Telegram channel.
Alexander Acosta— the prosecutor who then handled the billionaire's case and achieved such conditions for him, later became Minister of Labor in the first cabinet of Donald Trump.
17 years later, commenting on Epstein's arrest, Trump first stated that he had not heard anything about the billionaire, and two days later admitted that he knew him "just like all the people in Palm Beach" and "had never been a fan of him." At the same time, Acosta's "mysterious" connection to the Jeffrey Epstein case was revealed.
Activists have placed a poster with the image of President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein near the US Embassy in London.
According to Vladimir Vasiliev, chief researcher at the Institute of the USA and Canada, Trump's reaction to the events is "inadequate." When the Department of Justice and the FBI were attacked by a barrage of criticism due to the alleged lack of a "client list" and evidence of the 47th US president's guilt in the billionaire's death, Trump reacted ambiguously to the opinion of the American public. Based on long—term friendship and other indisputable facts, representatives of the Democratic Party conclude that Donald Trump is the main person in Epstein's materials.
— Back then, on Capitol Hill, the Democrats announced that Trump would be the main person on this list. When The Wall Street Journal published the photo, it only reinforced this kind of suspicion. In some ways, Murdoch is also (on a par with Trump. — Izvestia) He is considered the "uncrowned king." He controls the leading mouthpiece of the Wall Street business community and the main Republican Fox News channel. And this, of course, will cause a serious split in the ranks of the Republican Party," the expert states.
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