WorldNetDaily’s failed attempt to bury the news that the government has concluded that Jeffrey Epstein really did kill himself was only the beginning of the story, it appears. A June 6 article by Bob Unruh went into Trump damage-control mode by touting a claim by an Epstein lawyer (no, not Alan Dershowitz) insisting that “has confirmed that the notorious pedophile had nothing on President Donald Trump,” quoting him as saying, “I can say authoritatively, unequivocally, and definitively that he had no information to hurt President Trump. I specifically asked him!”
But the story wouldn’t die, and WND let its conspiracy-mongering tendencies take over. It republished a July 7 article from the unreliable Gateway Pundit complaining that “The Swamp wants you to believe—once and for all—that Jeffrey Epstein was nothing more than a lone-wolf pervert who conveniently ‘killed himself’ in a filthy Manhattan jail cell.” Joe Kovacs followed up with the Trump White House’s spin:
In the wake of a new FBI memo claiming there was no client list of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, despite U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi saying she had it on her “desk right now to review,” the White House is now saying law enforcement did its job, and “the Trump administration is committed to truth and to transparency.”
During a press briefing Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked point blank: “The DOJ and the FBI have now concluded there was no Jeffrey Epstein client list. What do you tell MAGA supporters who say they want anyone involved in Jeffrey Epstein’s alleged crimes to be held accountable?”
Leavitt replied: “The Trump administration is committed to truth and to transparency. That’s why the attorney general and the FBI director pledged at the president’s direction to do an exhaustive review of all of the files related to Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes and his death. And they put out a memo in conclusion of that review.
“There was material they did not release because, frankly, it was incredibly graphic and it contained child pornography which is not something that’s appropriate for public consumption.
“But they committed to an exhaustive investigation. That’s what they did and they provided the results of that. That’s transparency.”
Kovacs didn’t seem to be buying that spin, though, as the rest of his article was filled with conspiracy-mongering by the likes of Alex Jones. Indeed, he served up more right-wing outrage in a July 8 article:
Outrage continues to build among President Donald’s Trump supporters over the Justice Department’s conclusion there was no client list for pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, with some Trump fans urging the ouster of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Among them is journalist and Trump ally Laura Loomer, who refers to Bondi as “Blondi.”
“Please join me in calling for Blondi to RESIGN!” Loomer said on X. “How many more times is this woman going to get away with Fing everything up before she is FIRED?”
[…]About three hours later, Trump himself posted a message on Truth Social praising the FBI and its top officials, though not specifically mentioning the dropping of the Epstein matter.
An anonymously written July 8 article noted that “President Trump interrupted his attorney general, Pam Bondi, at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting as she began to answer a reporter’s question about recent criticism she has taken over a seeming lack of transparency involving the case against the late Jeffrey Epstein.” That was followed by Tucker Carlson purporting to offer “The REAL reason Pam Bondi won’t release the Epstein Files.” A July 9 article by Kovacs served up another dissenting voice:
A former model who says she was raped at least three times a day on Jeffrey Epstein’s private island is now going scorched earth on President Donald Trump after his Justice Department this week reneged on its pledge to release files including names, flight logs and co-conspirators of the convicted pedophile.
In a video she posted Tuesday on X, Juliette Bryant of South Africa targeted Trump by name, the same day the president blasted a reporter for asking a question about “this creep” Epstein.
“Wow! Donald Trump! American government. Your government kidnapped me,” Bryant began.
“You promised the Epstein list. Victims are being found dead. Hello! I mean the whole reason you gained presidency, Trump, was because of promising the Epstein list. Are you as much of a liar as them?
“Thank goodness for Elon Musk for actually standing up for what’s right. It’s funny how only South Africans stand up, because where are the other 200 Epstein victims? Although maybe they’re too frightened to speak up because of the American government.
[…]Meanwhile, journalist Benny Johnson posted an in-depth explanation about why Americans care want details of the Epstein case, saying: “We care about Epstein because we care if our government is protecting an elite pedophile cult. That’s it. That why we care.
“The government should be thrilled to prove they’re NOT protecting predators by releasing all Epstein evidence and prosecuting.”
Kovacs has not yet broached what is arguably the most obvious explanation for why the Epstein files have not been released: Trump himself is implicated in them. It’s a conclusion he would presumably not be avoiding if the president was a Democrat.