Donald Trump and his girlfriend (and future wife), former model Melania Knauss, financier (and future convicted sex offender) Jeffrey Epstein, and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell pose together at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, February 12, 2000.
Davidoff Studios Photography/Getty Images
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Davidoff Studios Photography/Getty Images
Donald Trump and his girlfriend (and future wife), former model Melania Knauss, financier (and future convicted sex offender) Jeffrey Epstein, and British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell pose together at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, February 12, 2000.
Davidoff Studios Photography/Getty Images
One of the narratives at the heart of President Trump’s political movement is this: American society is dominated by a shadowy group of elites, and those elites are deeply corrupt.
Nothing represented that theory more than the case of Jeffrey Epstein.
He was a man most people had never heard of initially, with a private plane and a private island. Acquainted with the world’s most powerful people: British royalty, U.S. presidents.
A man who ultimately died in jail…by suicide, according to authorities… before the case against him went to trial. Epstein’s case and his death bred skepticism and conspiracy theories – especially among supporters of Donald Trump.
Now, some of Trump’s most ardent supporters are attacking his Justice Department’s decision not to release all of the files related to the Epstein case.
Trump says nobody cares about Epstein. But his base won’t let it go.
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This episode was produced by Connor Donevan and Alejandra Marquez Janse, with audio engineering by Ted Mebane. It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Krishnadev Calamur. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
