MAGA are furious over Epstein case: What to know

By Adriana Gomez Licon Meg Kinnard and Ed White Associated Press A broken promise to release more information about the Jeffrey Epstein scenario has sparked outrage among various of President Donald Trump s loyal supporters The Justice Department last week reported Epstein who was facing charges of sex trafficking did not leave behind a client list Attorney General Pam Bondi suggested in February it was on her desk though she later noted she was referring to the overall occurrence file Bondi also announced representatives were poring over a truckload of previously withheld evidence The Justice Department concluded however that citizens disclosure would not be appropriate and that much of the material was placed under seal by a judge That has angered right-wing influencers who were once bolstered by Trump s own asserts on this event but are now feeling their demands are being squelched by his administration Figures like commentator Tucker Carlson right-wing activist Laura Loomer and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon claim the establishment s handling of the event shows a lack of transparency Anger over the episode threatens to divide the MAGA faithful Here s a look at the Epstein sex trafficking event how the Trump administration has handled it and how his supporters have reacted to fresh developments What is the Epstein incident Epstein was a wealthy financier arrested in on federal sex trafficking charges His former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell was charged with helping him abuse teenage girls Related Articles FBI director Dan Bongino reportedly eyeing resignation As MAGA fumes about Epstein Trump defends AG Bondi Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide and there s no client list Justice Department says Mystery surrounds the Jeffrey Epstein files after Bondi indicates tens of thousands of videos Virginia Giuffre who accused Prince Andrew Jeffrey Epstein dies at Epstein was uncovered dead in his cell at a federal jail in New York City about a month after he was arrested Investigators concluded he killed himself Maxwell later was convicted at trial and sentenced to years in prison The occurrence attracted attention because of Epstein and Maxwell s links to famous people including royals presidents and billionaires It also led to several of the biggest conspiracy theories animating Trump s base Conservatives led by key figures in the MAGA movement have pressed unsubstantiated states that Epstein was murdered and that deep state actors in the governing body are hiding lists of his clients videos of crimes being committed and other evidence Trump himself suggested there was a cover-up What are the Epstein Files Trump lately has tried to change the subject but the Epstein matter commands attention because of the words and actions from his administration In February far-right influencers were invited to the White House and provided with binders marked The Epstein Files Phase and Declassified The binders contained documents that had largely already been in the residents domain Bondi announced in May there were tens of thousands of videos of Epstein with children or child porn That fueled a belief that details about powerful figures had been suppressed It s a new administration and everything is going to come out to the population Bondi reported at one point Multiple people who participated in the criminal cases of Epstein and Maxwell explained The Associated Press that they had not seen and did not know of a trove of recordings along the lines of what Bondi had referenced What happened last week The Justice Department on July acknowledged that Epstein did not have a list of clients and mentioned no more files related to Epstein s episode would be made populace A two-page memo that bore the logos of the FBI and Justice Department but that was not signed by any individual reported the DOJ determined that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted It reported much of the material was placed under seal by a court to protect casualties and only a fraction of it would have been aired publicly had Epstein gone to trial It was a huge retreat from what Bondi and others had previously claimed And it prompted anger and more suspicion and conspiracy theories from the MAGA faithful Chosen MAGA world influencers including Loomer and Glenn Beck have explicitly called on Bondi to resign Former Fox News personality Megyn Kelly who is now a podcaster called Bondi either lazy or incompetent What had Trump mentioned about Epstein before his second term As far back as Trump suggested that Epstein s death was a cover-up and called for a full inspection In retweeting a post by conservative pundit and comedian Terrance K Williams who suggested that former President Bill Clinton may have been involved Trump wrote that Epstein had information on Bill Clinton now he s dead When demanded about his retweet Trump mentioned he was merely demanding a full probe a day after then-Attorney General Bill Barr declared there had been serious irregularities at the prison where Epstein was being held In a interview Trump narrated Carlson he supposed that Epstein had committed suicide But he couched his response saying it was also attainable that he had been murdered a theory he reported plenty of people maintained Last year Trump was inquired on Fox News whether he would declassify documents regarding the Sept attacks and the assassination of President John F Kennedy and he answered yeah He was then questioned about the Epstein files and he stated yeah yeah I would but then added I think that less so because you don t want to affect people s lives if it s phony stuff in there because it s a lot of phony stuff with that whole world But I think I would What has Trump commented in recent times In a Cabinet meeting last week Trump called it unbelievable and a desecration that people were still talking about this creep given other pressing matters including the catastrophic flooding in Texas In a social media post on Saturday he expressed promotion for Bondi What s going on with my boys and in selected cases gals ' Trump wrote They re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB We re on one Gang MAGA and I don t like what s happening