The ‘Epstein Files’ Were Always Going to Blow Up in Trump’s Face  and JD Vance Just Poured Gas on the Fire

A lot of people close to Trump could end up in serious trouble because of this situation.

Back in 2000, a photo was taken at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida showing Donald Trump with his then-girlfriend (and future wife) Melania, Jeffrey Epstein (a wealthy financier who was later convicted as a sex offender), and Ghislaine Maxwell (a British socialite who was later convicted for helping Epstein). That photo has become symbolic of a deeper, darker connection between powerful people and Epstein’s crimes.

For years, many on the political right believed Epstein’s death in a New York jail in 2019 was suspicious. He was awaiting trial for sex trafficking, with accusations that he abused underage girls and arranged encounters for wealthy and influential men. Because Epstein had ties to high-profile Democrats like Bill Clinton and Bill Richardson, some conservatives assumed his death had to be part of a plot to silence him and protect prominent liberals. They mostly ignored the fact that Epstein was also friendly with many Republicans.

So when Epstein died by what officials ruled as suicide, it fed the theory that something was being covered up to protect the elite. And for those already convinced that Democrats were running some secret cabal, the story only seemed to confirm their worst fears.

But this week, the Department of Justice and the FBI released a memo saying that, after a lengthy investigation, they found no evidence of foul play in Epstein’s death. According to them, he did die by suicide. There was no secret “client list,” no blackmail scheme, and no cover-up. Simply put, they say there’s nothing more to the story.

But many people on the right just don’t believe that and some of the loudest skepticism is coming from within the Republican Party itself. That’s because for years, Trump and many of his allies built their political power by encouraging people to distrust the government, painting it as a corrupt “deep state” out to get them. Now that Republicans are in charge, their own supporters still don’t believe a word coming from Washington—even when it’s their own team saying it.

This is a classic case of a political movement being devoured by its own narrative. Once you convince people that everything is rigged and everyone is lying, you can’t just flip the switch and ask them to believe you again.

Take Attorney General Pam Bondi. She told Fox News in February that she had the infamous Epstein client list “sitting on my desk.” But if the DOJ memo is accurate, that list doesn’t exist. So why say it? Probably because she knew that feeding the conspiracy would win her support from people deeply invested in the story.

Or maybe there is a list, and Trump’s name is on it—as Elon Musk suggested in a now-deleted tweet—and Bondi was left to handle the fallout after Trump stopped its release. That theory can’t be proven, and probably never will be. But it keeps the suspicion alive.

Adding to that, Senator JD Vance chimed in with a tweet that sums up the feeling many still have. He wrote:

> “Remember when we learned that our wealthiest and most powerful people were connected to a guy who ran a literal child sex trafficking ring? And then that guy died mysteriously in a jail? And now we just don’t talk about it.”

That tweet touches the nerve that keeps this story going: the sense that someone has to be hiding something. And that even with investigations and official statements, justice hasn’t really been served.

So now we have a situation where the same figures who once attacked the “deep state” are the ones in charge and are shocked that their own supporters think they’re part of it. They fed the beast for years, and now it’s turning on them.

It’s like joining a party full of people wearing leopard masks, cheering on as the leopards bite everyone else then acting surprised when they turn and bite you too. Everyone saw this coming. Even the leopards.