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When Jack Posobiec visited the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., last February, he anticipated receiving answers regarding Jeffrey Epstein.
However, he and other MAGA supporters grew disillusioned when presented with predominantly rehashed, publicly available information. The government’s reluctance to release new details this July further fueled their discontent.
“We were assured that more information was forthcoming, that answers were available and would be provided. It’s remarkable how poorly this Epstein matter has been managed. And it didn’t have to be this way,” Posobiec stated on social media on July 7.
Now, Donald Trump is facing challenges in dispelling the conspiracy theories that have energized his base since his emergence onto the Republican political scene a decade ago.
Posobiec, who gained prominence in 2016 by disseminating false rumors about a child abuse ring allegedly operating out of a Washington, D.C., restaurant – a conspiracy known as Pizzagate – is among numerous staunch MAGA adherents who believe officials are concealing critical information about Epstein’s life and death.
The disgraced financier and convicted sex offender died by suicide in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
On a recent podcast hosted by Breitbart News editor Alex Marlow, Posobiec suggested that the MAGA base views the Epstein case as emblematic of the pervasive corruption within the so-called “deep state.”
“It’s not about personal concern for Epstein,” he explained. “It’s the perception that Epstein was entangled in a shadowy system that exerts control over our government, institutions, and lives, essentially acting as a ruling power.”
Over the years, claims have emerged that government officials possess files on Epstein containing compromising details, including a “client list” with the names of individuals potentially involved in his alleged crimes.
Trump has previously catered to this sentiment. During the last election campaign, he expressed having “no problem” releasing Epstein case files, and later affirmed he would “declassify” the files if asked.
Conspiratorial thinking has been integral to President Trump’s movement since its inception. His entry into Republican politics a decade ago was marked by his amplification of the false claim that Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
Now, however, the world of conspiracy is presenting challenges.
Epstein’s crimes were heinous, and further revelations remain possible.
However, the case has been absorbed into broader narratives – Pizzagate, and later QAnon, the sprawling interactive conspiracy theory that gained traction during Trump’s first term, positing that a child-abusing elite cabal controlled the highest echelons of society. This theory was propagated through cryptic messages from a pseudonymous figure known as Q.
Mike Rothschild, author of several books on Trump-era conspiracies, including “The Storm Is Upon Us: How QAnon Became a Movement, Cult and Conspiracy of Everything,” noted that Epstein was mentioned in numerous such messages dating back to late 2017.
“Epstein is viewed as a key figure in a global ‘paedo elite’ that has been trafficking children for centuries, which Q and Trump were supposed to dismantle,” he told the BBC.
Following the Justice Department meeting in February, administration officials, including FBI director Kash Patel and his deputy Dan Bongino – who both stoked Epstein rumours for years – started to temper expectations of significant revelations.
Then, on July 8, the Department of Justice and FBI issued a memo stating that Epstein’s death was ruled a suicide and there was no evidence of a “client list.”
The president seemed eager to move on, dismissing the Epstein case as “sordid, but it’s boring” while blaming Democrats for keeping it alive.
While many Trump supporters are content to follow the president’s lead, a segment of highly engaged MAGA supporters remains deeply invested in the Epstein case.
Several MAGA figures, including former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, have alleged that Epstein was employed by Israeli security services. Among more extreme elements of the movement, conspiracy theories surrounding Epstein sometimes border on antisemitism.
Rothschild noted that most individuals within MAGA circles are simply seeking more information – if it exists – about the financier’s connections with Bill Clinton and other Democrats and Trump opponents. Epstein cultivated relationships with influential figures from both major U.S. political parties.
Due to the long history of MAGA’s preoccupation with the Epstein case, Trump now faces difficulty satisfying the conspiratorial elements within his base.
The story took another twist late on Thursday as The Wall Street Journal reported Trump had sent Epstein a “bawdy” birthday greeting in 2003. The pair’s one-time friendship is well-known, but Trump says he cut ties with Epstein long ago and filed a lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal’s parent company, its owner and two reporters following the report.
Meanwhile, Trump appeared more willing to indulge the conspiracy theorists, posting on Truth Social: “Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval.”
Conspiracy theories demonstrably have the power to mobilize segments of the president’s base. QAnon supporters were notably present at the January 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
A survey conducted shortly before last November’s election by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) found that nearly a fifth of Americans agree with QAnon-linked statements, including the assertion: “The government, media, and financial worlds in the U.S. are controlled by a group of Satan-worshipping paedophiles who run a global child sex trafficking operation.”
Many view the Epstein case as corroborating these beliefs, and the QAnon-believing population is overwhelmingly pro-Trump, with 80% supporting the president, according to the PRRI.
This support has translated into influence. Posobiec, the Pizzagate and Epstein conspiracy theorist who attended the DOJ meeting in February, reportedly accompanied Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on a recent trip to Europe.
He has also been photographed meeting with neo-Nazis, though he denies being a white nationalist himself.
He did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment.
He remains convinced that the Epstein case is connected to the broader conspiracy landscape.
“It’s connected to COVID, lockdowns, and vaccines,” Posobiec stated on the Alex Marlow podcast, recorded at a conference last week where multiple speakers invoked Epstein and demanded further revelations.
“It’s tied to numerous sources of public anger.”
Rich Logis, a former longtime Trump supporter who founded Leaving MAGA, argues that these outlandish theories serve “as ties that bind many within the MAGA community”, even amongst those who doubt them.
Logis says Trump’s dismissal this week of their concerns this left some supporters “feeling confused and stunned”.
“They expected Trump to keep his promise and reveal those who allegedly aided and abetted Epstein,” he said.
If the Epstein case presents a political quagmire for Trump, there is also a problem for his supporters, particularly the vocal influencer class, in figuring out where to funnel their rage. Targeting the president could backfire when it comes to their own followers.
“Many of the major influencers are furious,” Rothschild said, “and while they might not take it out on Trump, they might take it out on the GOP (Republican Party) in general.”
Trump has so far stood by Pam Bondi, his attorney general. But she, Patel and Bongino may increasingly feel the pressure if MAGA’s conspiracy wing continues to demand more files – whether or not they actually exist.
Federal agents are investigating, but authorities describe it as “an isolated incident” with no further threat to the public.
At least 28 people are injured after a vehicle drove into a crowd on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles.
A court in Brazil also bars the ex-president from using social media and puts him under 24-hour surveillance.
The lawsuit is over a story claiming the president wrote a “bawdy” personal note to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003.
Big screen footage of the two people went viral after reports they were colleagues and at least one was married to another person.
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