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Maddow Blog-Team Trump struggles to control the Epstein 'client list' fire it helped create
It was members of the president's own team who helped light the match and fan the flames, starting a political fire that they’ve clearly lost control over.
If members of Team Trump didn’t want to get burned by the Epstein “client files†story, maybe they shouldn’t have helped light the match and fan the flames. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-07-08T12:59:59.673Z
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/team-trump-struggles-control-epstein-client-list-fire-helped-create-rcna217441
As The New York Times reported, Team Trump now wants its adherents to believe that list does not exist — after having already said the opposite.
“This systematic review revealed no incriminating ‘client list,’” the DOJ memo said. “There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.”
The same memo added, “No further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.”
In theory, this might seem sufficient. Donald Trump’s followers wanted a thorough investigation; Trump-appointed officials claim to have conducted just such a review; and the Trump administration is now effectively telling its base, “Move along, there’s nothing to see here.”.....
As part of the effort to end the controversy, the Justice Department did release a lengthy video showing the hallway outside Epstein’s jail cell, but as the Times’ report noted, the video “appears to be missing a minute just before midnight. The digital clock on the screen jumps from 11:58:58 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. Officials did not immediately have an explanation for the apparent gap.”
If you’re thinking this won’t help matters, you’re not alone.
As this mess gets messier, the detail to remember is that this is a fiasco of Team Trump’s own making. Bondi said the “client list” was on her desk. Kash Patel and Don Bongino, before they became the FBI’s leaders, insisted that conspiracy theories related to Epstein were real and worth taking seriously.
Even JD Vance, four years before he became vice president, railed against efforts to keep the alleged “client list” secret. The Ohio Republican wrote in a 2021 tweet, “If you’re a journalist and you’re not asking questions about this case you should be ashamed of yourself.”
If members of Team Trump want to know who to blame for this debacle, they need only look in a mirror.
For months, Attorney General Pam Bondi promised the release of documents on the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein that could reveal damaging details, drumming up anticipation over the files, long a source of speculation and conspiracy theories. But on Monday, a memo by the Justice Department undercut her own statements, pouring cold water on baseless claims. It amounted to a catalog of conclusions that affirmed those reached years earlier by investigators, including that Mr. Epstein killed himself while in a Manhattan cell awaiting trial.
“This systematic review revealed no incriminating ‘client list,’” the DOJ memo said. “There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.”
The same memo added, “No further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.”
In theory, this might seem sufficient. Donald Trump’s followers wanted a thorough investigation; Trump-appointed officials claim to have conducted just such a review; and the Trump administration is now effectively telling its base, “Move along, there’s nothing to see here.”.....
As part of the effort to end the controversy, the Justice Department did release a lengthy video showing the hallway outside Epstein’s jail cell, but as the Times’ report noted, the video “appears to be missing a minute just before midnight. The digital clock on the screen jumps from 11:58:58 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. Officials did not immediately have an explanation for the apparent gap.”
If you’re thinking this won’t help matters, you’re not alone.
As this mess gets messier, the detail to remember is that this is a fiasco of Team Trump’s own making. Bondi said the “client list” was on her desk. Kash Patel and Don Bongino, before they became the FBI’s leaders, insisted that conspiracy theories related to Epstein were real and worth taking seriously.
Even JD Vance, four years before he became vice president, railed against efforts to keep the alleged “client list” secret. The Ohio Republican wrote in a 2021 tweet, “If you’re a journalist and you’re not asking questions about this case you should be ashamed of yourself.”
If members of Team Trump want to know who to blame for this debacle, they need only look in a mirror.
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