Advertisement
Advertisement
Yahoo News

Trump lashes out at supporters pushing the 'Epstein Hoax': Behind the MAGA fallout over the investigation into his 'client list'

The president disavowed longtime backers who are furious over the administration's conclusion that the accused sex trafficker did not possess a secret list of clients.

Updated
6 min read
President Trump points toward the camera as he speaks with reporters.
President Trump speaks with reporters on the South Lawn on Tuesday. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
Generate Key Takeaways

President Trump is lashing out at his supporters amid their ongoing anger over his administration’s handling of the investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In a Truth Social post early Wednesday, Trump repeatedly referred to the case as “the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax.”

“My PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bullshit,’ hook, line, and sinker,” the president fumed. “All these people want to talk about, with strong prodding by the Fake News and the success starved Dems, is the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax.”

Advertisement
Advertisement

He added: “Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore!”

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office later Wednesday, Trump said some Republicans "got duped by the Democrats."

"I lost a lot of faith in certain people," the president said.

How we got here

Side-by-side photos of President Trump and Jeffrey Epstein.
President Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Joe Raedle/Getty Images, New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP)

Epstein has long been the focus of unfounded conspiracy theories pushed by some of Trump’s prominent supporters. They believe that the late financier — who died of an apparent suicide in his prison cell in 2019 after his indictment on federal sex trafficking charges — was actually murdered to conceal the names of powerful people on a secret “client list,” which was then covered up during the Biden administration.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Among those fueling the Epstein conspiracy theories were Kash Patel, who is now Trump’s FBI director, and Dan Bongino, now the deputy director at the FBI.

During the 2024 campaign, Trump said he would consider releasing additional government files on Epstein. When he took office, Trump directed the Justice Department to conduct an exhaustive review of the evidence collected on Epstein.

Appearing on Fox News in February, Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Epstein client list was “sitting on my desk right now to review.”

“That’s been a directive by President Trump,” she added.

But last week, the DOJ and FBI released a joint memo with their findings, concluding Epstein had no “client list” and that he “committed suicide in his cell.”

Advertisement
Advertisement

“One of our highest priorities is combating child exploitation and bringing justice to victims,” the FBI and DOJ said. “Perpetuating unfounded theories about Epstein serves neither of those ends.”

"While we have labored to provide the public with maximum information regarding Epstein and ensured examination of any evidence in the government’s possession, it is the determination of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted," the memo added.

The backlash over the Epstein memo

Attorney General Pam Bondi listens as President Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting.
Attorney General Pam Bondi listens as President Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on July 8. (Evan Vucci/AP)

The two-page memo did little to satisfy Trump’s MAGA faithful.

At Turning Point USA’s Student Action Summit in Tampa, Fla., last weekend, young conservatives erupted in boos when the topic of the joint memo was raised.

Advertisement
Advertisement

“How many of you are satisfied with the results of the Epstein investigation?” Fox News host Laura Ingraham asked from the stage to resounding jeers.

“It’s deeper than Epstein!” Steve Bannon, former senior White House adviser, shouted while taping his podcast live at the event. Bannon said the Trump administration’s failure to release more Epstein documents is “not about just a pedophile ring and all that. ... It’s about who governs us.”

“The fact that the U.S. government, the one that I voted for, refused to take my question seriously and instead said, ‘Case closed, shut up, conspiracy theorist,’ was too much for me,” former Fox News host Tucker Carlson said at the summit Friday. “And I don’t think the rest of us should be satisfied with that.”

The fallout at the FBI and DOJ

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino at a microphone.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino. (Michael Reynolds/Pool via AP)

The conclusion of the Epstein probe also reportedly did not satisfy top officials at the FBI.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Late last week, CNN reported that Bongino was considering resigning following a “heated confrontation” he and Patel had with Bondi over the handling of the Epstein case.

The same day, far-right provocateur Laura Loomer wrote on X that Bongino and Patel were “LIVID” with Bondi over the Epstein case. According to Loomer, Bongino was “taking the day off today from his job as Deputy Director of the FBI, and there’s now speculation on whether or not he will return to his job.”

Patel issued a statement on X Saturday downplaying the Epstein conspiracies and saying he would continue to serve as FBI director.

“The conspiracy theories just aren’t true, never have been,” Patel wrote. “It’s an honor to serve the President of the United States @realDonaldTrump — and I’ll continue to do so for as long as he calls on me.”

Trump backs Bondi and says ‘nobody cares’ about Epstein

President Trump gestures as he speaks with reporters.
Trump on the South Lawn on Tuesday. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

Amid the fallout over the memo, Trump issued a lengthy statement on Saturday defending Bondi while expressing his frustration over MAGA’s fixation on Epstein.

Advertisement
Advertisement

“What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’ They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and ‘selfish people’ are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein. For years, it’s Epstein, over and over again.

“One year ago our Country was DEAD, now it’s the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World,” he added. “Let’s keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.”

Trump doubled down on his support for Bondi while speaking to reporters on his way to Pittsburgh on Tuesday, saying she handled the matter “very well” and adding: “Whatever she thinks is credible, she should release.”

Bondi: ‘I’m not going to talk about Epstein’

Attorney General Pam Bondi raises her right arm as she speaks at an event.
Bondi at an event at DEA headquarters in Arlington, Va., on Tuesday. (Umit Bektas/Reuters)

The attorney general dodged questions about Epstein at an event touting fentanyl seizures at the Drug Enforcement Administration’s headquarters in Arlington, Va., on Tuesday.

Advertisement
Advertisement

“I’m not going to talk about Epstein,” Bondi said.

In an interview with conservative commentator Benny Johnson posted to X, House Speaker Mike Johnson urged Bondi to “come forward and explain” her mixed messages regarding the convicted sex offender’s alleged client list, saying the controversy is distracting from the DOJ’s other work.

“I’m for transparency,” the speaker said. “It’s a very delicate subject, but we should put everything out there and let the people decide.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia and staunch Trump loyalist, also called for the release of more Epstein files.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Upon returning from Pittsburgh, Trump said he doesn’t understand the fascination his supporters have with Epstein.

“I don’t understand why the Jeffrey Epstein case would be of interest to anybody,” the president said. “It’s pretty boring stuff. It’s sordid, but it’s boring, and I don’t understand why it keeps going.”

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement