WASHINGTON, Nov 15 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump was keen to say victory this week after the record-long U.S. authorities shutdown ended on his phrases. However virtually instantly, the White Home was pressured to battle a well-known bogeyman: Jeffrey Epstein.
A trove of emails launched by Democrats within the U.S. Home of Representatives on Wednesday reignited questions on Trump’s relationship with the disgraced financier and the way a lot the president knew about Epstein’s alleged abuse of women.
Whereas the White Home swiftly dismissed the hassle as a Democratic smear marketing campaign, the headline-grabbing messages underscored a possible vulnerability for Trump that might shadow the president and his Republican Occasion into subsequent yr’s midterm congressional elections.
Trump has weathered controversies that may have sunk many politicians. However the Epstein saga has confirmed to be a persistent legal responsibility that disrupts Trump’s message self-discipline and complicates his effort to maintain his coalition targeted on coverage quite than scandal.
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SOME REPUBLICANS BREAK RANKS
A lot of Trump’s most loyal supporters consider the federal government is withholding delicate paperwork about Epstein, a convicted intercourse offender who died by suicide in jail in 2019, that may reveal his ties to highly effective public figures.
A handful of Republicans have damaged ranks to hitch Democrats looking for a full paperwork launch, drawing a rebuke from Trump, who known as them “soft and foolish.”
“I think the hope was that it would die down and go away, and that was never going to be the case,” stated Republican strategist Terry Sullivan, who headed Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential marketing campaign.
“It’s an impossible issue to handle effectively,” he added. “It’s impossible to prove a negative. If he (Trump) didn’t know anything, how do you prove it?”
Pia Carusone, a Democratic strategist and companion at political consultancy SKDK, stated the specter of Epstein may depress Republican turnout within the 2026 midterm elections if new revelations maintain dripping out.
Some Trump supporters for years have fanned conspiracy theories about Epstein’s shoppers and the circumstances of his loss of life. Whereas Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing associated to the rich financier, he has confronted a backlash from supporters over his administration’s refusal, citing privateness issues, to reveal all Epstein-related investigative recordsdata.
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“The MAGA base has a way of attaching to insider issues and blowing them up,” Carusone stated. “I think he’s very vulnerable on this.”
Whereas 9 in 10 Republicans say they approve of Trump’s efficiency within the White Home total, simply 4 in 10 say they approve of his dealing with of the Epstein recordsdata, in keeping with a Reuters/Ipsos ballot performed in October.
The White Home stated it could not be distracted by the Epstein saga.
“Democrats and the mainstream media are desperately trying to use this hoax as a distraction to talk about anything other than Democrats getting utterly defeated by President Trump in the shutdown fight. These emails prove literally nothing,” White Home spokeswoman Abigail Jackson stated.
UNITY SHOWS CRACKS
The president demonstrated near-total management over his celebration throughout the 43-day authorities shutdown. Even with this week’s Epstein emails, some outstanding conservative influencers downplayed messages that advised Epstein believed Trump “knew about the girls.” The messages additionally confirmed Trump disapproved of his habits and compelled Epstein out of his Mar-a-Lago social membership in Florida.
Trump has repeatedly denied any data of Epstein’s alleged abuse and intercourse trafficking of women.
Republican unity has not held across the Epstein concern total, and Democrats have nonetheless managed to trigger bother for Trump.
On the identical day the federal government reopened, a petition supported by all Home Democrats and 4 Republicans received the ultimate signature wanted for a vote on a invoice to compel the Justice Division to launch all recordsdata associated to Epstein.
Excessive-level Trump aides did not persuade Consultant Lauren Boebert to take her title off the Epstein petition, going as far as to satisfy along with her within the State of affairs Room, a White Home area sometimes used for urgent nationwide safety issues.
Illustration: Kelly Caminero/HuffPost; Photograph: Getty Photographs
Republican Consultant Nancy Mace, one other Trump loyalist, additionally didn’t budge in her assist for the petition. A supply accustomed to the state of affairs who spoke on situation of anonymity stated that when Mace and Trump have been unable to attach by telephone, she wrote a message to the president that referenced her expertise as a sexual assault survivor.
The recalcitrance of Boebert and Mace, members of a Republican congressional convention that has proven virtually full obedience to Trump, suggests the president should navigate inside dissent fastidiously to make sure the Epstein saga doesn’t fracture his celebration heading into the midterm elections.
After days of declining questions from reporters, Trump broke his silence on Friday night time, lamenting how the Epstein affair had distracted from his accomplishments.
“When you talk about the Epstein hoax, what happens is, you’re not talking about how well we’ve done,” Trump advised journalists aboard Air Pressure One. “They want to waste people’s time, and some of the dumber Republicans like that.”
These feedback got here simply hours after Trump introduced that he would ask the Justice Division to examine Epstein’s ties with JPMorgan and outstanding Democrats. The U.S. financial institution stated it regrets its previous affiliation with Epstein, who was a consumer between 1998 and 2013, and didn’t assist him commit “heinous acts.”
Democratic and Republican strategists stated the previous few days have illustrated the Epstein scandal’s exceptional endurance and its skill to commandeer any information cycle.
The continued makes an attempt by the White Home to suppress or deflect information across the saga have had the impact of prolonging the eye paid to it, they stated.
“I don’t think anyone could argue that they handled it well,” veteran Republican strategist Alex Conant stated, “because we’re still talking about it.”
(Reporting by Gram Slattery, Steve Holland and Nandita BoseEditing by Colleen Jenkins, Ross Colvin and Rod Nickel)
