Epstein Files Political Theater

By Douglas V. Gibbs

My co-host on KMET’s Constitution Radio Program, Dennis Jackson, asked me what I thought about the Epstein story a couple weeks ago, and I told him I believe it to be a non-story.  There is no betrayal, the MAGA base is not up in arms, and the Trump Administration is telling us what they can.  Beneath it all, however, it may be more complex than we may ever know.  But, nonetheless, Trump’s opposition are doing what they always do – they are trying to create a false narrative out of it hoping to damage Trump’s presidency.

The leftist media — CNN, MSNBC, the whole alphabet soup of propaganda outlets — are trying to sell you a narrative.  It’s a carefully crafted illusion that the MAGA base is in full-blown revolt over the Epstein memo.  That Trump’s approval is tanking.  That Pam Bondi’s days are numbered.  That Kash Patel and Dan Bongino are storming out of FBI headquarters with their MAGA mugs in hand.

It’s all a lie. A fabrication. A fantasy cooked up in the fever swamps of the Democrat echo chamber because they have no agenda or set of policies to stand on so all they can to is target and attack.

Sure, there’s some chatter on social media. Yes, some influencers are venting. But let’s not confuse a few loud voices with the heartbeat of the movement. The MAGA base isn’t buying the hysteria. They’re not calling for Bondi’s head. They’re not turning on Trump. In fact, CNN’s own polling shows Trump’s approval among Republicans rising during this so-called “controversy” (I’ll get into the details of that later).

So what’s really happening?

The left is desperate. They thought the Epstein files would be their golden ticket to discredit Trump, to fracture his base, to sow chaos. But instead, they’re watching the base hold firm. They’re watching Trump brush off the noise and double down on his agenda. And they can’t stand it because everything they have tried hasn’t stopped him.

So they’re manufacturing betrayal. They’re inventing drama. They’re projecting their own disillusionment onto a movement that’s never been more focused.

I never planned to spend much time on the Epstein thing because to me it is for the most part a non-story, but now I’ve decided to talk about it – not because the MAGA base is crumbling — but because the leftist media and the Democratic leftwing political machine is.

So now we’ve got Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy AG Todd Blanche filing a motion to unseal grand jury transcripts tied to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. And why? Because President Trump is done playing defense. He’s flipping the script.

Let’s be clear: these transcripts aren’t just dusty courtroom relics. They’re the backbone of the 2019 indictment against Epstein and the 2020 charges against Maxwell. They hold the testimony, the timelines, the names. And Trump wants them out in the open. Not selectively. Not sanitized. All of it.  After all, despite the Left’s ranting, he has nothing to fear, and everything to gain.

The media circus has reached peak absurdity. The Wall Street Journal — once a bastion of financial reporting, now reduced to tabloid theatrics — published a hit piece claiming Trump sent Epstein a “bawdy” birthday letter featuring a naked woman. Folks, this is the kind of garbage you’d expect from a gossip blog, not a legacy outlet. Trump denied it. Called it fake. And then — like a man who doesn’t flinch — he filed a libel lawsuit against Dow Jones, News Corp, Rupert Murdoch, and the two reporters who pushed the smear.

That’s not retreat.  That’s not the actions of a man in fear.  That’s not someone trying to appease anyone. That’s in-your-face, unapologetic offense.

Meanwhile, whispers from inside the FBI suggests that evidence tied to Epstein may have been destroyed. A whistleblower claims files were being shredded day and night. And Bondi? She’s not backing down. She’s demanding answers. She’s demanding transparency. And she’s demanding accountability.

You have to realize that when she had those files on her desk, and said as much, she figured all of the information she was looking for was in those files.  I believe that the files had all been tampered with, missing key information, and filled with false information.  Not exactly the kind of files you suddenly wish to throw out there for the hard left progressive maniacs to have a field day with.  The truth has to be found, and the reality is that the truth was not in those files on her desk, and that’s why those files are not out for you to see.  Not because the Trump administration is hiding anything, but because they want you to see The Truth, not a fabricated version of it planted by deep state swamp creatures.

That’s why they are seeking to unseal the Grand Jury transcripts.  They are hoping that evidence and clues of the truth may be contained in them.  Representative Anna Paulina Luna confirmed it: the decision to unseal these transcripts wasn’t a knee-jerk reaction. It was in the works. It was strategic. It was deliberate.

And Trump’s message on Truth Social?

“This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!”

That’s not just a quote. That’s a declaration of war against the narrative machine spewing out false information.

So now we’ve got Ghislaine Maxwell — Epstein’s longtime associate and convicted trafficker — allegedly compiling a “special gift” for Epstein’s 50th birthday. A leather-bound album filled with letters from his elite circle, including one bearing Donald Trump’s name. And what does the Wall Street Journal do? They run with it. They publish a hit piece claiming Trump’s letter was “bawdy,” framed by a hand-drawn naked woman, with a squiggly “Donald” signature mimicking pubic hair.

Folks, this is tabloid trash masquerading as journalism.

Let’s be clear: the Journal didn’t publish the actual letter. They didn’t show the drawing. They didn’t verify the source. They didn’t confirm whether it was part of the Trump administration’s recent review. But they ran the story anyway — because the goal isn’t truth. It’s damage.

And Trump? He’s not taking it lying down. He called it fake. He called it defamatory. And he’s suing Rupert Murdoch, NewsCorp, and the reporters behind the smear. That’s not just a legal move — it’s a declaration of war against the media machine that’s been trying to tie him to Epstein for years.

Now we get back to their game of deception: the Left is claiming the Epstein files weren’t released to protect Trump. Really? These are the same Democrats who had four years under Biden to release those files. Four years with Garland at DOJ. Four years with Comey’s daughter on the case. And what did they do? They buried it. They shredded it. They destroyed the evidence.

And now they want to act shocked that Trump’s administration — after months of pressure — is trying to unseal grand jury transcripts?

Even The Washington Post, no friend of Trump, published a report that dismantles the Left’s narrative. No credible evidence links Trump to Epstein’s crimes. No documentation implicates him in trafficking. And we are being told that Epstein really did commit suicide, something I am not so sure of, but we’ll tackle those conspiracy theories swirling like vultures over a carcass in a moment.

Trump and Epstein may have shared social circles in the ’80s and ’90s, but they split in the early 2000s over a real estate deal. That’s not criminal. That’s capitalism.  It’s like the whole “Trump was once a Democrat” thing, or that he hung out with the Clintons.  Trump was in business to make money, and the fact is both sides have money.  Profit, in his case, saw no red and blue, only green – but that doesn’t mean he was politically a lefty anymore than bumping into Epstein a bunch of times and talking to him at a gathering makes him any part of Epstein’s sickness.

So what’s the real story here?

It’s not about Epstein. It’s not about justice. It’s about desperation. The Left is watching Trump’s approval rise — even CNN admits it — and they’re panicking. They’re throwing everything they’ve got, hoping something sticks.

But the base isn’t budging. The truth is surfacing. And the media? They’re the ones drowning.

So, they decided to manufacture a new production.  That’s what they do.  They are the Hollywood of politics – tell a story, no matter how fictional, and sell it like it’s the real thing.  And they will keep pushing the false narrative, and they have kept pushing it, even though Trump’s approval defies the narrative.

The Democrats and their media lapdogs are trying to convince you that Trump’s administration is imploding over the Epstein files. That Pam Bondi’s on the chopping block. That Kash Patel and Dan Bongino are packing up their MAGA mugs and heading for the exits. That Trump’s approval rating is plummeting faster than CNN’s primetime numbers.

None of it is true.

This is what the Left does best — they lie, they spin, and they project. Bondi said she had the files on her desk. She did. She assumed they contained bombshells. Turns out they didn’t. That’s not a cover-up. That’s called doing your job. But the Left saw an opening and pounced, hoping to fracture the MAGA base and paint Trump as a man betrayed by his own team.

And what happened?

Trump’s approval rating went up. Let me say that again for the folks in the back: UP.

Even CNN — yes, CNN — was stunned. They were probably warming up the graphics, prepping the doom-and-gloom segment, ready to declare the MAGA movement dead on arrival. But the numbers didn’t cooperate.

The CNN guy who’s been reporting on polls said on the air, “I think this one surprised me a bit… You might think his approval ratings were going down with Republicans. If anything, they’re going up…Donald Trump’s approval rating has gone up since this whole Epstein saga started. Republicans who said the top issue was the Epstein case? One. Not 1%. One person.”

According to the Q-Pac Poll, Trump’s approval among Republicans jumped from 87% to 90%. That’s not erosion. That’s consolidation.

So while the Left is busy chasing shadows and spinning fantasies, the MAGA base is standing tall. They see through the noise. They know the difference between a scandal and a smear. And they’re not abandoning Trump — they’re rallying behind him.

This isn’t a crisis no matter what you might be hearing.

The swamp creatures who were, and some who still are, a part of the Department of Justice wants you to believe — without a shadow of a doubt — that Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide. Case closed. No client list. No foul play. Just a lonely man in a cell who took his own life.  Unfortunately, even Trump and Bondi has bought into that idea.

Well, let’s pump the brakes on that narrative for a moment.

Michael Franzese, I got to meet him a bunch of years ago while he was out there promoting his book – bought it and got his autograph in it – is a former Colombo family capo who spent seven months in the exact same tier of the Metropolitan Correctional Center that Epstein was in, and he says the official story doesn’t add up. And folks, this isn’t some conspiracy theorist in a Reddit rabbit hole — this is a guy who knows prison from the inside out.

“There’s just no way to hang yourself. There’s nothing from the ceiling. There’s nothing from the bed. You’d have to be a midget and work really hard to try to hang yourself,” Franzese said on NewsNation’s Banfield.

He questioned the infamous “camera malfunction” — the missing minute in the surveillance footage. He said in eight years behind bars, he never saw cameras go down or guards skip their rounds. In fact, he said it’s so constant, you can’t even use the toilet in peace.

So what are we left with?

The only chink in Trump’s Epstein deal – a DOJ memo that says Epstein died by suicide, that there’s no client list, and that no further information will be released.  I believe there’s a client list but they don’t have it, and they have a false list or false evidence so they are holding on to it for the moment.  But, I don’t buy the suicide thing.  As for the Left? They’re salivating. They’re spinning this as a betrayal of the MAGA base. They’re claiming Trump’s supporters are furious, that Bondi botched the release, that Patel and Bongino are threatening to quit.

But here’s the truth: Tump’s base is not buying the political theater.  Again, yes, some folks are questioning. That’s healthy. But the majority? They’re not falling for the bait. They know the Left lies. They know the media manufactures outrage. And they know that if Epstein had secrets worth killing for, the people who had four years under Biden to release those files chose instead to shred them.  The truth is still being pieced together, and deep down Trump may not believe the suicide claim – they may simply be saying that for the moment just to buy time as they seek to figure out the truth from the few clues remaining after the Democrats and the deep state destroyed most of it.

In the end, we have to understand that much of this isn’t about Epstein’s death. It’s about the Left’s desperation to fracture the MAGA movement. And it’s not working.

So now Ghislaine Maxwell — Epstein’s longtime associate and convicted trafficker — is back in the headlines, claiming she’s the victim of government misconduct. Her family’s out with an open letter saying she didn’t get a fair trial. That she’s ready to file a writ of habeas corpus. That she’s got new evidence. That she’s willing to spill the beans on Epstein’s secrets — including the perhaps real, perhaps mythical, “client list.”

Enter stage left, desperation.

Maxwell’s legal team is leaning hard on Epstein’s 2007 Non-Prosecution Agreement, arguing that it should’ve protected her too. That deal — crafted in the shadows and signed off by the Southern District of Florida — promised not to prosecute Epstein’s co-conspirators. But here’s the catch: Maxwell wasn’t named. And the DOJ says the deal only applied to that district. She was charged in New York. Game over.

But her lawyer, David Oscar Markus, is playing the Trump card — literally. He says, “I’d be surprised if President Trump knew his lawyers were asking the Supreme Court to let the government break a deal. He’s the ultimate dealmaker.”

Nice try. But Trump’s not the one who cut that sweetheart deal. That was the Bush-era DOJ. And let’s not forget: Trump’s administration is the one trying to unseal the grand jury transcripts. He’s not protecting Maxwell — he’s exposing the rot.

Meanwhile, the DOJ and FBI dropped a memo that reads like a bureaucratic shrug:

“No incriminating client list.” “No credible blackmail evidence.” “No reason to investigate uncharged third parties.” “Epstein died by suicide.”

And the Left? They’re losing their minds. Rep. Jamie Raskin and his Democrat colleagues are demanding subpoenas. They want Bondi, Patel, Bongino, and Blanche dragged before Congress. They’re accusing Trump of hiding something. They’re claiming the MAGA base is in revolt.

But here’s the truth: MAGA knows something’s up, and U.S. Representative Jim Jordan isn’t playing their game. He said Bondi and Patel were already scheduled to testify — just like every year. No subpoenas. No circus. Just facts.

And Jordan’s support for the administration? Rock solid.

So what’s really happening?

Maxwell’s trying to rewrite history. The Democrats are trying to rewrite the narrative. And the media? They’re trying to rewrite Trump’s legacy.

But the base isn’t budging. The facts aren’t changing. And the truth? It’s starting to fight through the muck and hopefully will eventually shine through.

So now, after years of silence, the Democrats suddenly care about Jeffrey Epstein. Not because they want justice. Not because they care about the victims. But because they saw an opportunity to sabotage Trump’s nomination of Alex Acosta — the man who oversaw the original federal case against Epstein.

Let’s not kid ourselves. Epstein wasn’t just a lone predator. He was part of a long, sordid list of sex offenders tied to the Clintons. And when he was arrested in 2019, that magical curtain of immunity — carefully stitched together by powerful hands — was ripped down. That arrest led directly to his death in federal custody. And with it, the truth was buried deeper than ever.

The Epstein story has long since left the realm of crime reporting. It’s now a playground for grifters, conspiracy theorists, and political opportunists. The Democrats are using it to target Trump. The media is using it to distract. And the truth? It’s nowhere to be found, and if it is out there (wow, I suddenly feel like an episode of X-Files is upon us), the Trump administration will dig it out of wherever The Swamp is hiding it.

What’s really revealing is how both sides — Left and Right — have decoupled Epstein from the Clintons. The only people who could’ve protected him across three states, shut down federal investigations, and reached into a federal prison. But politically, the Clintons are old news. The grifters have moved on. And the truth? It may never be known if Trump’s team is unsuccessful.

Even Alan Dershowitz — Epstein’s former lawyer — claims he knows the names. Says the files exist. Says they’re being suppressed. But he’s bound by confidentiality. And then, in the same breath, he goes on NewsNation and tells Chris Cuomo there is no Epstein list. Never has been.

So which is it?  I like Dershowitz a little bit, but one wonders if someone has gotten to him.  And that’s the story of the whole thing, and why Trump’s team is having so many difficulties getting at the truth.  Lies, cover-ups, deceptions, and threats on people’s lives are all mixed into this.

President Trump has doubled down, though. He says that he thinks the Epstein files may have been created by James Comey, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. He’s calling them a hoax. A scam. A political weapon forged in the fires of the Deep State.  Stranger things have happened.  Look what they did regarding January 6, or the Russia-Russia-Russia hoax.  There’s no place these people are not willing to go to try to create a spin to damage their opposition and cover-up their criminalities.

“For years, it’s Epstein, over and over again. Why are we giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration,” Trump wrote.

That’s not deflection. That’s frustration. That’s a man who’s watched the media twist every narrative, every memo, every binder into a weapon against him.  And the reality is, Trump’s theory may have legs.  There may be truth to it.

So where does that leave us?

With a story that’s been hijacked. With a truth that’s been buried. And with a base that’s still standing — still asking questions — still refusing to swallow the spin.

And, it’s all a distraction.  The Left wants you mad at Trump and his team over Epstein so that your attention will be diverted away from all of his success.  They’ve got nothing, and they know it, so smoke and mirrors and deceptive narratives are all they have remaining.

And as CNN’s polls have noticed, it’s not working.

— Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary