In two decades since Florida police first probed financier Jeffrey Epstein's alleged abuse of minors, the former US President Donald Trump has yet to release FBI files on the matter, despite promising to do so during his 2016 campaign.
Trump's stance contrasts with that of Democratic politician Ro Khanna, who pointed out in recent months that releasing the files was central to Trump's message about an elite betrayal of ordinary Americans. Epstein's associates knew and tolerated his crimes but remain unscathed.
Recently-released emails suggest that Trump had known about Epstein's activities, as described by the late Virginia Giuffre and confidant Ghislaine Maxwell. The messages indicate that Trump "had no idea" about Epstein's crimes, which many see as implausible given their proximity.
Epstein himself wrote to Maxwell stating she should stop bringing young girls to him, while also describing his acquaintances, including one who asked for a massage.
Trump labelled the matter a 'hoax', though his party's release of thousands of documents earlier this year did little to quell the growing pressure for transparency on the Epstein files. Some Republicans have expressed support for releasing the documents.
The FBI chief Kash Patel was among those initially urging investigation into Epstein, but later reversed his stance without explanation. Trump has weathered scandals which would have ended many careers before him - including allegations of sexual assault and a recent civil lawsuit over abuse claims.
For the far-right base, Epstein's associates remain figures of intrigue and controversy - although some have been unfairly maligned as partisans of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. The investigation into their complicity in Epstein's crimes has been slow to progress, often driven by those who were most directly impacted.
Trump's stance contrasts with that of Democratic politician Ro Khanna, who pointed out in recent months that releasing the files was central to Trump's message about an elite betrayal of ordinary Americans. Epstein's associates knew and tolerated his crimes but remain unscathed.
Recently-released emails suggest that Trump had known about Epstein's activities, as described by the late Virginia Giuffre and confidant Ghislaine Maxwell. The messages indicate that Trump "had no idea" about Epstein's crimes, which many see as implausible given their proximity.
Epstein himself wrote to Maxwell stating she should stop bringing young girls to him, while also describing his acquaintances, including one who asked for a massage.
Trump labelled the matter a 'hoax', though his party's release of thousands of documents earlier this year did little to quell the growing pressure for transparency on the Epstein files. Some Republicans have expressed support for releasing the documents.
The FBI chief Kash Patel was among those initially urging investigation into Epstein, but later reversed his stance without explanation. Trump has weathered scandals which would have ended many careers before him - including allegations of sexual assault and a recent civil lawsuit over abuse claims.
For the far-right base, Epstein's associates remain figures of intrigue and controversy - although some have been unfairly maligned as partisans of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. The investigation into their complicity in Epstein's crimes has been slow to progress, often driven by those who were most directly impacted.
I mean, it's really weird that Trump is still holding onto these files and hasn't released them yet. Like, he was super all over the place about this whole thing during his campaign, said he'd get the truth out and stuff... 
And now? Crickets. Meanwhile, his party just spewed out some random documents and called it a day? No thanks. I'm still waiting for real transparency here. It's like they're trying to sweep something under the rug. Newsflash: we weren't born yesterday, guys. We remember when Trump was all about "draining the swamp" but now he just seems like another player who wants to keep his dirty secrets buried. 
Like, Trump is literally doing the bare minimum on this one and it's soooo shady! 
He promised to release the FBI files during his campaign but NOTHING has happened 
! It's like he's trying to sweep this under the rug and I am NOT having it 
. The fact that Epstein's associates are still flying high while others have been brought down for similar crimes is just wild 
. The whole thing is just so... suspicious 
. I need more transparency from our President on this one 
.
. I mean, I'm not saying Trump's entirely innocent here, but come on, man... give the people the truth! 
. It's like the rich and connected always get a free pass while the rest of us are left to deal with the fallout 
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I mean, Trump is still holding onto this super sensitive info about Epstein's abuse of minors for two decades already... it's like, what's going on? 
. We need more accountability here! #JusticeForSurvivors #TransparencyMatters #TrumpAccountability
. I mean, come on, 20 years is a long time to be keeping secrets about some serious allegations. And yeah, it doesn't add up that he's saying he knew nothing when those emails came out - it's pretty suspicious. 
But seriously, the fact that some of these associates are still free and clear is just not right. They knew what was going on and they did nothing to stop it. It's like they're above the law or something. 
anyway, i was watching a vid the other day about netflixs new original series and i just want to know how they make those shows so suspenseful? like can someone explain the psychology behind it? 
it's like he's trying to spin this whole thing. And can we talk about how slow this investigation has been? 
I'm all for justice, but someone needs to get some answers out there! 
. I mean, I've seen some of my friends get in so much trouble for something way less serious than what Epstein did... it's just not right 
it's so frustrating!
We know he knew, we have the emails. It's just not believable that he didn't know what was going on right under his nose. And let's be real, if anyone else did something like this, they'd be done. They wouldn't be able to walk away with a slap on the wrist.
. It's weird how he's always making these promises to release the files during his campaigns, but now it seems like they're just collecting dust in some secure server somewhere 
. And what's up with Ghislaine Maxwell? She was basically his accomplice and yet Trump still thinks she's innocent... I don't get it 
. It's like he wants us to believe that Epstein was the only one involved, but we all know there were plenty of others who knew about the whole thing 
. It's time for some accountability, especially from the people who were involved in enabling Epstein's abuse 
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