MAGA outrage over alleged Epstein 'cover-up' ironic

Donald Trump’s excitable fan base is in an uproar this week. The reason: A new Justice Department memo states that notorious indicted child molester and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in a New York City prison in 2019 — just as the medical examiner ruled at the time — and that the much-hyped Epstein "client list" of high and mighty child abusers doesn’t exist.

That’s awkward. A lot of activists and influencers in Trump’s "Make America Great Again" movement had flogged the alleged Epstein cover-up as evidence of the abominable corruption of the "establishment." Now, many are accusing Trump loyalists such as Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel of complicity — or even pointing fingers at Trump himself.

Bondi had previously promised to release massive records from federal probes into Epstein. Asked about the Epstein client list in a Fox News appearance in February, she replied, "It’s sitting on my desk right now to review. That’s been a directive by President Trump." Days later, binders of "Epstein files" were handed out by the Justice Department to a group of pro-Trump social media figures. It turned out they contained nothing of note.

Even so, in another Fox interview in March, Bondi played along with innuendo that Democratic officials were withholding the Epstein list from the public to protect their own.

The two top people at Trump’s FBI — Patel and deputy director Dan Bongino — had also long encouraged Epstein rumors implicating the "Deep State" and prominent Democrats in their days as MAGA culture warriors. Even Vice President JD Vance had fanned those flames in social media posts.

To make it even more embarrassing for the Trump administration, there have been persistent rumors — recently amplified by Trump buddy-turned-enemy, tech tycoon Elon Musk — that Trump himself is on "client list." It’s a fact that Trump knew Epstein, a fellow Palm Beach resident. In a 2002 interview, he described Epstein as a "terrific guy" who "likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side." Epstein was charged with trafficking girls 14 and under. Trump promptly distanced himself from the disgraced financier after that 2019 indictment.

MAGA anger was further stoked on Tuesday when, at a cabinet meeting, Trump berated a reporter for asking about the Epstein case: "Are people still talking about this guy, this creep? That is unbelievable." He even called it a "desecration" to bring it up during the tragic floods in Texas.

Now there’s talk of a crisis of trust in MAGA ranks. The big-name antiestablishment conspiracy theory pushers — Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, Laura Loomer, Alex Jones, Jack Posobiec — are enraged. Liz Wheeler, one of the influencers who proudly posed with the bogus Epstein files Bondi handed out in February, says that "Trump is massively misreading his base" on this issue. And while some loyal MAGA foot soldiers are obediently parroting Trump’s dismissive stance, others complain of being betrayed and "gaslit."

And now there’s more fuel to add to the fire: Celebrity attorney Alan Dershowitz — once accused of having sex with an underage Epstein trafficking victim — claims he saw the "client list" while working on his defense.

I think the Justice Department memo is likely accurate. But if this nonissue — and not, say, the attempt to steal the 2020 election — finally erodes Trump’s support among his faithful, it will be a karmically ironic twist. Live by conspiracy theory, die by conspiracy theory.

Opinions expressed by Cathy Young, a writer for The Bulwark, are her own.

By Cathy Young

Cathy Young is a writer for The Bulwark.