Given all of the conspiratorial noise about the Jeffrey Epstein story, we understand why some Americans are tempted to look away at this point. Still, it deserves attention because it has become a case study in the ways that President Trump and his aides manipulate the public and abuse power. Even if the Epstein files that the Justice Department must release by Dec. 19 contain no significant revelations about Mr. Trump, the president is already guilty of acting with contempt for the public at nearly every turn in this saga.
If Mr. Trump were any other American president, his personal relationship with Mr. Epstein would be a major scandal on its own. The two were once friends and enjoyed joking about their reputations for chasing women. “He’s a lot of fun to be with,” Mr. Trump said about Mr. Epstein in a 2002 magazine profile. “It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.”
In a crude birthday note to Mr. Epstein in 2003, Mr. Trump apparently signed his name in the place of pubic hair inside a sketch of a naked woman’s body. The note includes the line “may every day be another wonderful secret.” The two men had a falling out, for unclear reasons, before Mr. Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to charges that involved sexual behavior with a 16-year-old girl. In 2019, as Mr. Epstein’s world was collapsing, he wrote in an email about Mr. Trump, “Of course he knew about the girls.”
By Mr. Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign the Epstein case had become a MAGA obsession, related to Mr. Epstein’s associations with powerful people, some of them Democrats. And Mr. Trump’s campaign was happy to use the speculation for political advantage. He indicated in interviews that he would release the files, and his allies went further, encouraging conspiracy theories.
JD Vance, Mr. Trump’s vice presidential nominee, said that releasing the files was “important.” Donald Trump Jr. speculated that his father’s opponents were “trying to protect those pedophiles.” Elon Musk declared: “Part of why Kamala is getting so much support is that, if Trump wins, that Epstein client list is going to become public. And some of those billionaires behind Kamala are terrified of that outcome.”
Once Mr. Trump returned to the presidency, he had the power to do as he had indicated he would and order a broad release of the files. He did not. Instead, his subordinates tried to make it seem as though they were champions of transparency while avoiding the release of new information.
The timeline is damning. In late February, administration officials invited right-wing influencers to the White House and gave them binders of Epstein documents, although some attendees were disappointed that they contained little new information. Two days later, Attorney General Pam Bondi proclaimed that Americans would “get the full Epstein files” with redactions to “protect grand jury information and confidential witnesses.” In March, she spoke publicly about a “truckload” of new evidence that her department had recently received. “Everything’s going to come out to the public,” Ms. Bondi said.
But then the administration’s approach changed — after Ms. Bondi briefed Mr. Trump that his name appeared in the files. “Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?” the president snapped at reporters in July. “This guy’s been talked about for years.” That month, the Justice Department said it had no client list and would stop revealing Epstein material to the public.
During the 2024 campaign, the Trump team had profited from indulging speculation; once in power, and apparently worried about Mr. Trump’s vulnerability, their opportunism was exposed.
At this point, Mr. Trump undertook an aggressive effort to prevent the release of additional information. After two House members — Ro Khanna, a Democrat of California, and Thomas Massie, a Republican of Kentucky — started a petition to order its release, Mr. Trump blasted Mr. Massie as disloyal and tried to intimidate other Republicans from signing on. He appears to have pressured Mike Johnson, the speaker of the House, to use procedural maneuvers to prevent the matter from receiving a vote. He lashed out on social media at “PAST supporters” for pressing “the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax.” In July, he became the first sitting president to file a personal defamation lawsuit against a media organization when he sued The Wall Street Journal’s parent company and two of its journalists for reporting on the Epstein birthday note. The Journal has stood by the story.
As it became clear this fall that the Khanna-Massie petition would succeed and the House would pass a bill mandating more disclosure, Mr. Trump reversed himself again. First, he weaponized the Justice Department for partisan advantage and directed it to investigate Mr. Epstein’s ties with Democrats — not with Republicans. Finally, Mr. Trump flipped his position on the House bill two nights before the scheduled vote, urged Republicans to vote for it and then ridiculously claimed credit for its passage.
He signed the bill on Nov. 19, compelling the Justice Department to release the files within 30 days. The law allows for the redaction of victims’ information, as well as the withholding of materials related to national defense or an active federal investigation.
We want to emphasize that we are conflicted about the release of the files. Investigative materials are not normally part of the public record for a reason. They typically include a mixture of facts, speculation and false leads, and can unfairly damage reputations. The material can sometimes hurt victims. We also recognize that Mr. Epstein’s case is not typical. It suggested a moral rot in America’s elite circles because Mr. Epstein remained a part of some of those circles long after he had to register as a sex offender. Many of his victims, feeling betrayed by the justice system, understandably want the files to become public. Many other Americans want the chance to assess the conduct of investigators and prosecutors, as well as Mr. Epstein’s influential friends.
Even if the wisdom of releasing the files is a nuanced issue, Mr. Trump’s behavior has been indefensible. His campaign took advantage of monstrous crimes for his political benefit. He misled the American public about his dealings with Mr. Epstein and his attitude toward the files’ release. He politicized the Justice Department on this matter, as on so many others.
Now that the same department will be in charge of redacting the documents to protect innocent people, national security and ongoing investigations, Americans should view the product of this review with skepticism. There is every reason to believe that the Trump administration will exploit the process to protect any of its allies named in the files (starting with the president himself) and to embarrass Democrats and other perceived Trump enemies. Congress should be ready to defy Mr. Trump on this subject again and investigate the Justice Department’s handling of the release.
Regardless of how often Mr. Trump himself appears in the files, Americans should not define deviancy down. They should expect more from their presidents, even this one.
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