President Trump says his own supporters were “duped” by Democrats about the widespread claim that late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein kept a ‘client list’.
Trump is facing a rare backlash from supporters as he seeks to draw a line under the issue.
Many top Republicans have long called for the release of more information on Epstein and Trump last year promised to release files relating to the disgraced financier.
The issue re-emerged earlier this year during his public spat with former adviser Elon Musk.
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|Trump said his own supporters had been 'duped'
Trump said on Tuesday he did not understand “what the interest or what the fascination is” on the matter and today went on the offensive as he addressed those from his own party calling for transparency.
Asked if he will allow Attorney General Pam Bondi to release more documents, he said: “Whatever is credible, she can release. If a document is credible, she can release.
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“It’s just a subject. He’s dead. He’s gone. All it is, Republicans got duped by the Democrats and they are following a Democrat playbook.
“In this case, I was surprised. But they got duped.”
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|Donald Trump addressed reporters in the White House
He continued: “We have bigger problems. We have problems with millions of illegals who came here under stupid Joe Biden. He allowed them into the country.
“It’s very sad that someone can get waylaid. I think Pam Bondi is doing a great job.”
Asked if he is “disowning” supporters calling for him to release more files, he admitted “I have lost a lot of faith in certain people”.
He continued: “They got duped by the Democrats. The Democrats are good for nothing.
Getty | Epstein had pleaded guilty to prostitution charges, including one involving a minor, in 2008 and served 18 months in prison“They’ve done a terrible job. They almost destroyed our country. If I didn’t get elected, we just got the biggest tax cut in history and the biggest regulation cuts in history.
“There will be no tax on tips, no tax on social security, no tax on overtime. No tax on so many other things. You will be allowed to deduct your interest from a car payment, that has never happened before.”
Key Trump allies like House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson continue to call for transparency.
Epstein died in a New York prison cell in 2019 ahead of a sex trafficking trial.
His death was more than a decade after his conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
A two-page Department of Justice (DoJ) and FBI memo earlier this month said investigators found no “incriminating list” of clients and “no credible evidence” that Epstein blackmailed prominent figures.
Footage was also released which investigators say supports the medical examiner’s conclusion that Epstein died by suicide.
This goes against claims made by conspiracy theorists that Epstein was murdered to stop him from implicating officials in government, celebrities and other business tycoons.
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