"It's worth recalling that after reviewing the files, Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel ordered FBI agents to black out every mention of Trump, according to Bloomberg News. Why did they do that?" Kristol writes.

After all, if Trump only pops up occasionally in the files as an innocent bystander, or as a subject of third-party hearsay with no supporting or corroborating evidence, why the need to blackout the mentions? If Trump did nothing "concerning" while spending time with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein"as Ghislaine Maxwell is reported to have told Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche before being moved to a far nicer federal prison facility"then what's the problem? Why not just release the files, let Trump debunk whatever unverified suggestions may be in there, and avoid accusations of a coverup?

Perhaps because the files tell us more about the Trump-Epstein relationship? Perhaps because they suggest Trump has something to hide?

That would be the simplest explanation of Trump's own behavior over the last several months. That would be the simplest explanation of the behavior of Bondi and Blanche and Patel. That would be the simplest explanation of why they thought there was a need for such a high-level dinner to figure out how to salvage their unraveling coverup.