"We're Not Surprised": White House Reacts to Trump-Epstein Claim

The White House's Response to New Claims About Trump and Epstein

A recent report has reignited the debate surrounding former U.S. President Donald Trump's connections with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. According to the report, Trump was aware that his name appeared in case files related to Epstein. In response, the White House has taken steps to shift public focus away from the controversy and instead promoted claims that former President Barack Obama was involved in a "treasonous conspiracy" against Trump.

For years, Trump has capitalized on conspiracy theories tied to the Epstein case, which have fueled the conservative MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement and targeted political opponents. When Trump returned to the White House for a second term in January, he pledged to release the Epstein case files. However, on July 7, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that there was nothing to release. This led to frustration among Trump supporters, prompting him to attempt to manage the scandal.

Trump’s Association With Epstein

The situation became more complex when The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported last week that Trump had written a lewd birthday letter to Epstein in 2003. Trump denies the claim and has filed a lawsuit against the publication. However, the WSJ recently released a new story stating that Bondi informed Trump in May that his name appeared multiple times in the Epstein files. It remains unclear in what context Trump's name was mentioned, as many high-profile individuals in 1990s New York were associated with Epstein, who was known for cultivating celebrities to enhance his business reputation.

Although the latest report adds little to existing knowledge about Trump's ties with Epstein, the White House quickly labeled it as "fake news." A White House official told CNN that the president's name was present in binders provided by Bondi and handed out to others. They also stated that significant materials related to the case, already released by the Justice Department, included Trump's name, and there is no evidence of any wrongdoing by the president.

White House communications director Steven Cheung called the WSJ report "fake news," claiming that Trump had long since cut ties with Epstein and "kicked him out of his club for being a creep." He added that this was part of a broader pattern of "fake news stories" created by Democrats and the liberal media, similar to the "Obama Russiagate scandal" that Trump previously criticized.

Distraction Tactics

To divert attention from the growing speculation about Trump's handling of the Epstein case, the Trump team has used the "Obama Russiagate scandal" as a distraction. Trump's intelligence chief, Tulsi Gabbard, claimed there had been a "years-long coup" by Obama. This narrative echoes Trump's long-standing argument that investigations into Russia's attempts to influence the 2016 election were a "hoax."

Gabbard cited newly declassified intelligence that she said provided "irrefutable evidence" that Obama had ordered intelligence assessments to be manipulated to accuse Russia of election interference to help Trump. The Justice Department also announced the formation of a "Strike Force" to examine these allegations with "utmost seriousness."

However, Gabbard's claims conflict with four separate criminal, counterintelligence, and watchdog probes between 2019 and 2023, all of which concluded that Russia did interfere and helped Trump in various ways.

Who Was Jeffrey Epstein?

Jeffrey Epstein was a financier and associate of numerous high-profile individuals, including Trump, who was convicted of sex crimes and later imprisoned while awaiting trial for allegedly trafficking underage girls. His death in a 2019 prison cell—ruled a suicide—intensified conspiracy theories promoted by many of Trump's supporters. These theories suggest that Epstein ran an international pedophile ring and that elites wanted to ensure he never revealed their secrets.