In case you missed it, some serious rifts have opened up in Trump World.
Eric Tucker writing for the AP.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department and FBI are struggling to contain the fallout from this week’s decision to withhold records from the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation, which rankled influential far-right media personalities and supporters of President Donald Trump.
The move, which included the acknowledgment that one particular sought-after document never actually existed, sparked a contentious conversation between Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino at the White House this week. The spat threatened to shatter relations between them and centered in part on a news story that described divisions between the FBI and the Justice Department.
The cascade of disappointment and disbelief arising from the refusal to disclose additional, much-hyped records from the Epstein investigation underscores the struggles of FBI and Justice Department leaders to resolve the conspiracy theories and amped-up expectations that they themselves had stoked with claims of a cover-up and hidden evidence. Infuriated by the failure of officials to unlock, as promised, the secrets of the so-called “deep state,” Trump supporters on the far right have grown restless and even demanded change at the top.
Furious Bondi accuses Bongino of media leaks in 'face-to-face' showdown: report
— Raw Story (@rawstory.com) July 11, 2025 at 2:40 PM
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Axios just reported that Bongino took a DAY OFF from work today over his frustration with the Epstein files debacle. It’s worth revisiting this clip where Bongino complained about how hard work was.
— MeidasTouch (@meidastouch.com) July 11, 2025 at 9:37 AM
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For days, several Trump administration officials and senior aides have been privately communicating with MAGA influencers and other prominent Epstein files obsessives who they’ve known for years, trying — largely in vain — to convince them to lay off the Epstein issue, post-memo release…
— Asawin Suebsaeng (@swin24.bsky.social) July 12, 2025 at 7:40 PM
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I didn’t follow the Epstein case all that closely at the time — not a pleasant subject — but with it back in the news, I did a little research, particularly this piece from Mother Jones. Reading the article, I was struck by how much Epstein came off as an evil Gatsby—a criminal trying to buy his way into a glamorous world of wealth and power.
Josh Marshall also had a couple of good pieces, particularly on his doubts about the broader conspiracies being tossed around (though he does weaken a bit in the second post). I'm basically with him on this. When I say I'm a conspiracy skeptic on this (as I am on most things), I mean that I believe the official version currently on the record is more or less true.
Obviously, I'm not saying that we know everything or that some horrific criminal acts haven’t gone undiscovered here, but in terms of the FBI having a file with documentary evidence of an elite trafficking ring—rather than a few specific cases, like possibly Prince Andrew—I don't see a lot of reason to believe that.
There is also an important distinction that I think Marshall overlooks here: the existence of a massive conspiracy compared with the existence of files in the possession of the federal government that prove this conspiracy and provide all of the details.
Secrets are difficult to keep, and the idea that the Justice Departments of four or five administrations—depending on how you count Trump— have managed to keep the contents of these files quiet for all these years is difficult for me to accept, particularly when you factor in the bitter intraparty struggles we've seen over the past few years.
My working theory is that there are no smoking guns. What files do exist undoubtedly show a longstanding close relationship between Trump and Epstein, but we already knew that from extensive photographs, eyewitness accounts, and quotes from Trump himself. These revelations would be career-ending for a normal politician—and yet are relatively minor compared to all the other things we've learned about the man over the years. If that was all there was to this, it would be difficult to imagine this scandal having much of an impact one way or the other.
What makes this interesting is the way it intersects with at least a couple of threads we've been pursuing for a long time, starting with our longstanding “drinking from the wrong pipe” / feral disinformation mega-thread.
Disinformation has gone feral when:
1. It is no longer in the control of the group that created it.
2. It has continued to grow in popularity and influence.
3. It has started to evolve in such a way that the nuisance/threat it presents is as as great to the people who created it as it is to the original targets.
For years, the far right has increasingly embraced a series of conspiracy theories about wealthy elites running sex trafficking rings for the rape and sometimes cannibalism of children.
(Before you go on, take a moment and let the sheer insanity of that statement sink in.)
This Pizzagate lens is how MAGA views the Epstein case—as part of a network of theories and bizarre beliefs that have been cultivated by right-wing media and by Trump and his allies. It was a key element in the effort to demonize Democrats and radicalize the base.
via @accountablegop.bsky.social Pam Bondi on the Epstein documents: "It should have come out a long time ago...I wanna know why AG Garland and the DOJ are so quiet about this?...If people in that report are fighting to keep their names private, they have no legal basis to do so." (2024)
— jen 🌻 (@bunnibytz.bsky.social) July 12, 2025 at 5:14 PM
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Given Trump’s longstanding and completely public history of associating with and even defending both Epstein and Maxwell, it was remarkable that he was able to keep these conspiracy theories focused on Democrats and prominent liberals—but perhaps not entirely surprising, given the hold he has over the Republican Party and conservative media...
At least until we get to that second thread.
I'm betting that Trump is starting to regret dropping the dime with the New York Times on Elon's drug habit. As we said before, though Musk was horribly outgunned in a war with Trump, having the man who runs Twitter consumed with rage and vindictiveness at a Republican president can still lead to some interesting consequences.
While the immediate cause of this crisis is the incredible mishandling of the scandal by Trump—and particularly Pam Bondi—going from “we have the list sitting on my desk” to “the list doesn't exist” to “the list was forged by Hillary” in the space of a matter of days, it was almost certainly Musk pushing the issue on X that caused this series of otherwise avoidable errors.
And those errors are having consequences.
MAGA movement seems to be collapsing into conspiracy theories about their own conspiracy theories. It is like idiotception
— Catherine Rampell (@crampell.bsky.social) July 12, 2025 at 12:38 PM
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An unusual sight: President Trump is getting ratio’d on Truth Social for asking his followers to move on from the Epstein files. Some say he’s “gaslighting,” others say it will cost him supporters or even “kill MAGA.” A sampling of some replies getting heavy engagement.
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur.bsky.social) July 12, 2025 at 7:05 PM
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General Flynn is considered a hero in QAnon world, which is one of the main hubs of the Epstein conspiracies that are now mainstream.
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yasharali.bsky.social) July 12, 2025 at 8:18 PM
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Does this mean BJ's Russian handlers are dumpnig Trump?
“Whaaa… what?” Benny Johnson’s reaction sums it all up nicely 🤷🏼♂️
— The Tennessee Holler (@thetnholler.bsky.social) July 12, 2025 at 6:14 PM
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MAGA Reddit
Honestly, Elmo totally goes off, then claims he was “hacked” and then the times everyone just takes this at face value without asking any equations.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm.bsky.social) July 14, 2025 at 12:02 AM
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Democrats and allies should fan out on all these podcasts to talk about Trump’s tax cuts for billionaires, his wild corruption, his hateful deportations, and his cover-up of the Epstein files.
— Max Berger (@maxberger.bsky.social) July 11, 2025 at 8:40 PM
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The fact that some MAGA personalities are now laboring to rehabilitate Epstein ought to tell you something.
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec.bsky.social) July 11, 2025 at 9:22 PM
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Will it matter?
No. Trump controls the Republicans. The Republicans control the government. There's nothing that can be done until the midterms, and even if they go well, little can be done until 2028.
Or maybe? Trump’s policies are unpopular across the board and he's working with thin margins in Congress. A lack of support within the party could create huge problems.
But, Trump has weathered far worse scandals. He is an adjudicated rapist and a convicted felon. The Access Hollywood tape is largely forgotten. He’s bragged on Howard Stern about lurking in the dressing rooms of underage girls. He’s talked about wanting to have sex with his daughter. He’s coated with Teflon.
But, this time the call is coming from inside the house. Democrats are certainly doing the most they can to fan the flames, but the fire started—and is burning the brightest—within the base.
But, Trump has faced rebellions from these people before, most notably with respect to vaccines. They always come around.
But, with those issues, Trump resolved the crises by backing down. In the case of vaccines, he actually put the country’s leading anti-vaxxer in charge of the Department of Health. Trump has too much baggage with Epstein to give the base what they want here.
But...
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