"What are they hiding from the American people? Who does Trump want to protect - his rich friends or himself?" Speculation surrounding the "Epstein" case continues. Pressure on the government is growing.
Behind the scenes, American President Donald Trump is furious. For the first time, the White House seems paralyzed, writes the American publication "Politico", citing an administration official who wishes to remain anonymous. The approach to the documents related to the proceedings against Jeffrey Epstein has shaken even Trump's most loyal MAGA supporters.
At the last meeting with his cabinet, Trump turned to journalists with the question "Are you still talking about Epstein? This is unbelievable!", recalls the German public media ARD in this regard. That was two weeks ago. And, yes, America continues to talk about him - politicians, journalists, citizens.
"The Wall Street Journal" and "The New York Times" reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi informed Trump in May that his name appeared in the documents related to the case against Epstein. It is not clear in what context the American president was mentioned. Trump has been mentioned in previous documents related to Epstein, but has not been charged with anything.
Trump supporters are not satisfied
Americans are disappointed with the government's approach to the case, public opinion polls show. The "Economist" magazine published a sociological survey on Tuesday, according to which 56 percent of those surveyed disapprove of the way the president is handling the Epstein case. Only 22 percent believe that the government's actions are correct. Other surveys show similar results, ARD writes.
According to the poll, most Americans (89 percent of Democrats and 73 percent of Republicans) believe that the administration should make all documents in the Epstein case public. This was also one of Trump's campaign promises. After the Justice Department abandoned these plans, supporters of the American president, and even many politicians from the Republican Party, felt disappointed and betrayed.
"What are they hiding from the American people?"
The leader of the Democratic Party in Congress, Hakeem Jeffries, said that in his opinion, Donald Trump and members of the Republican Party have the opportunity to make all the documents in the case public immediately. "But they refuse to do it. What are they hiding from the American people?", Jeffries asked.
The Democrat's reaction came after an unusual decision by the speaker of the US Senate, Republican Mike Johnson. He decided to dissolve the parliament for the summer recess earlier than planned. In this way, Johnson prevented a vote on the release of the Epstein case documents - an initiative that enjoyed support not only among Democrats but also among Republicans and would probably have received support from the majority.
Trump's tactic: distraction
At the same time, Donald Trump clearly believes that he will be able to diffuse the tension. For example, with his demand that the Washington American football team change its name if it wants to receive support for building a new stadium. Or with the release of the Martin Luther King case documents. Or with a video created by artificial intelligence in which Barack Obama is arrested in the Oval Office.
Despite all his efforts to distract attention from his problems related to the "Epstein" case, the topic does not sink in, writes ARD. Trump's fierce supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene of the Republican Party even said: "If there is no justice and accountability, people are just going to get fed up".
Extremist influencer Laura Loomer, who is said to have significant influence over Trump, even demanded that the president fire Attorney General Pam Bondi for "lying to the people". A few weeks before the current scandal unfolded, Bondi was saying that Epstein's "client list" included many famous and powerful people. It later turned out that there was no such list. Conspiracy theorist and podcaster Alex Jones speculated that the Justice Department will now say that Jeffrey Epstein never existed either.
Who does Trump want to protect?
Apparently under pressure from all sides, last week Trump instructed Attorney General Bondi to obtain access to documents related to the 2018 indictment against Epstein. These are the transcripts of the so-called grand jury - the jurors who decide whether to indict or not. Now a judge in Florida has refused to release the documents, arguing that the necessary requirements have not been met, writes ARD. A similar request to release the records in New York has not yet been decided.
Trump likes to portray himself as a political outsider who wants to "drain the swamp in Washington" and take action against corruption, writes ARD. The American president has always promised complete transparency. That is why his supporters are now particularly disappointed. Because they get no answer to the question of why Trump refuses to make the documents public after promising to do so.
Who does the American president want to protect - his rich high-life billionaire friends or even himself? Speculation is rampant. At the moment, there are no signs that the public anger will dissipate quickly. Even the early summer recess of lawmakers in Washington seems to have no effect. Many of them will continue to receive uncomfortable questions from the people who elected them to represent them.