About a week ago, at a White House Cabinet meeting, a reporter asked Attorney General Pam Bondi about a controversial report her department had released a day earlier. “Your memo and release yesterday on Jeffrey Epstein, it left some lingering mysteries,” the reporter noted.
Before Bondi could respond, Donald Trump interjected — and tried his best to shut down the entire line of inquiry. “Are people still talking about this guy, this creep?” the president asked incredulously. He went on to suggest that the reporter was wasting time with his question, given that there were more important things to talk about.
If the idea was to end the discussion about the late millionaire pedophile, the Republican failed. Indeed, it was his own base that was largely responsible for keeping the controversy going throughout last week.
On Saturday, he tried a new approach.
In a statement published to his social media platform, spanning nearly 400 words, Trump praised his attorney general, and unironically described his administration as “PERFECT,” before complaining that he didn’t “like what’s happening” in MAGA World with regard to Epstein. In fact, he seemed to criticize some of his own followers, admonishing them as “selfish people” for their focus on Epstein, adding that “nobody cares about” Epstein, despite all evidence to the contrary.
But that’s not all he said. From the same online missive:
Why are we giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration. … They created the Epstein Files, just like they created the FAKE Hillary Clinton/Christopher Steele Dossier that they used on me, and now my so-called ‘friends’ are playing right into their hands.
While referencing a variety of other conspiracy theories, the president went on to complain about “the same old, Radical Left inspired Documents on Jeffrey Epstein.”
Or put another way, Trump, an ardent conspiracy theorist, has come up with a new conspiracy theory about the underlying conspiracy theory, which is a bit like watching a snake eat its own tail.
To the extent that reality still has any relevance in the public discussion, it was the Trump administration that investigated, arrested and charged Epstein. It was during Trump’s first term when Epstein, facing sex trafficking and conspiracy charges, died in 2019 while in custody, and a medical examiner ruled his death a suicide. But according to Trump, the so-called Epstein files were written by Barack Obama (who left office in early 2017), Hillary Clinton (who left office in early 2013), former FBI Director James Comey (who left office in 2017) and former CIA Director John Brennan (who left office in early 2017). How could they have “created the Epstein Files” given that they were nowhere near public office when Trump’s own team tried to prosecute him? I haven’t the foggiest idea, and Trump’s weird tantrum never explained how this could even be possible. Complicating matters, the president appeared to reinvigorate the story he wants to go away, but changing his administration’s official line. What started with (1) the “Epstein Files” are real and important, transformed into (2) the “Epstein Files” don’t actually exist so everyone should just move on, has now evolved into (3) the “Epstein Files” do exist, but they’re fake. If the White House was counting on this new line shutting down the chatter and speculation, it should probably lower its expectations.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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