According to news, the handling of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual assault case by U.S. Attorney General William Barr has sparked dissatisfaction among Trump supporters. On the 12th local time, President Trump voiced his support for Barr on social media, commending his work and advising his supporters not to be overly fixated on the case. Meanwhile, billionaire Elon Musk took to the internet to call out Trump: “Just release the documents.”
Trump: “No one cares” about Epstein
In a post, Trump stated, “No one cares” about Epstein, and he cannot waste more time or energy on this case. He said, “My brothers and sisters, what are you all doing? Everyone is targeting Attorney General Barr, but her work is outstanding!” He also mentioned, “We are a team, MAGA (Make America Great Again), I don’t like what’s happening.”
According to a report by Politico, some of Trump’s influential allies have criticized Barr’s handling of the Epstein investigation, calling for her resignation as attorney general. Trump’s recent post was interpreted by some media as an attempt to rally his supporters.
During his presidential campaign last year, Trump repeatedly claimed that if elected, the list of “Lolita Island” clients of Epstein would be made public.
However, when the relevant files were released at the end of February this year, there was nothing explosive in them, far from meeting public expectations for transparency in the case, leading to accusations that the Department of Justice and the FBI were hiding the truth.
Previously, the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a memorandum on the 7th of this month, which included the determination that there was no credible evidence indicating that Epstein had a “customer list” used for extortion against prominent individuals and that U.S. officials would no longer release investigative documents.
This conclusion was starkly different from the previous statements made by Attorney General Barr.
邦迪在2月份暗示了爱泼斯坦客户名单“就在办公桌上”待她阅看，并表示将公布该案大量的新信息。
The Washington Post reported on February 12th that the Trump administration hopes that the memo released on the 7th will bring an end to the case of Epstein.
However, among the conservative camp supporting Trump, many are not convinced by the memo and accuse Bendi of lying, demanding her resignation. Calls for the resignation of the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kathy Patterson, and Deputy Director Dan Bongino have also risen. Both Patterson and Bongino have fiercely criticized the previous Democratic administration for “withholding the truth” regarding Epstein’s case.
Conservative radio host Eric Eriksen posted on social media saying: “Pam Bendi looked into the eyes of Americans and said she had Jeffrey Epstein’s list. Now, she says it never existed. Pam Bendi should be fired for continuously lying to the American public.”
Many members of the MAGA camp believe they have been “betrayed.” Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Green posted on social media saying: “No one believes there is a ‘customer list’.”
Alex Jones, known for spreading conspiracy theories, stated: “This is absolutely disgusting.” Tacker Carlson, who was once a Fox News Channel host, accused the Justice Department of wanting to “kill the truth.”
Elon Musk once again called out Trump on social media platform X:
“He said six times ‘Epstein’, and everyone was told not to talk about Epstein anymore.
Elon Musk has made multiple public statements about the “Epstein case.”
On February 8th this month, just three days after announcing the establishment of the “American Party,” Musk criticized Trump over the “Epstein case” and confirmed that the “American Party” would prioritize exposing documents related to the “Epstein case.”
He posted on social media, “If Trump doesn’t release the documents related to Epstein, how can people have faith in him?”
The day before, after the FBI and the Department of Justice released their conclusions, Musk also posted a meme on X, responding to the DOJ’s stance on the Epstein case.
The image showed the evolving stance of the US government on this issue: We will release the Epstein list → We need more time → The Epstein list is right here on my desk → There are no “customer lists” for Epstein.
Why is the “Epstein case” so closely watched?
In July 2019, Epstein was arrested for allegedly conspiring to traffic and sexually assault minors. On August 10th of the same year, Epstein mysteriously died while awaiting trial in a prison in New York. Forensic experts declared his death a suicide, using his own bedsheets as tools. Reports suggested that there were numerous suspicious details surrounding Epstein’s death—prison guards fell asleep, surveillance cameras broke down, and a fellow inmate left the cell. Thus, there has been widespread speculation about his death.
Trump and some senior law enforcement officials had promised to release a “customer list” to expose Epstein’s crimes and the truth behind his death. Some believe that this list would reveal Epstein’s extortion of prominent figures, suggesting that he might have been killed to silence him.
In January 2024, under the order of Judge Preska in New York, over 200 pages and thousands of pages of court documents related to the Epstein case were gradually made public. With the declassification of these court documents, a “Epstein list” involving hundreds of individuals was revealed, including several elite billionaires and even US politicians.
On the 7th, the FBI and the Department of Justice released a video of 11 hours duration outside Epstein’s cell, stating that Epstein committed suicide in his cell and there was no evidence to suggest that Epstein was murdered. However, the released video was missing one minute.
The joint memorandum released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Justice also stated that there was no evidence to suggest that Epstein had a “client list” related to sexual assault scandals, nor did there exist any evidence indicating that Epstein extorted wealthy individuals.