drudge.com

...
@#8 ... Release the files and let us find out. ...

Pres Trump will probably say that the files can't be released now because they are part of an ongoing investigation.
...

The FBI Redacted Trump's Name in the Epstein Files (August 1, 2025)
www.bloomberg.com

... The most transparent administration in history'

Before explaining the government's rationale for blacking out Trump's name, let's recap. Along with aliens and JFK's assassination, conspiracy theories surrounding the life and death of convicted sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein have long consumed MAGA.

Epstein avoided federal sex-trafficking charges in 2008 when he agreed to plead guilty to state charges in Florida for soliciting prostitution. In July 2019, following an investigation by the Miami Herald that also scrutinized the integrity of the government's probe, Epstein was indicted on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors. A month later, he died by suicide in his jail cell, federal law enforcement authorities said, while awaiting trial.

Epstein's death led to a swirl of renewed interest among Trump supporters, which in recent months has verged into an obsession. Last year, while still on the campaign trail, Trump vowed to "declassify" material in the government's possession pertaining to Epstein. Before Pam Bondi was nominated as attorney general by Trump, she insisted that the public had a right to know more details about the case. "If people in that report are still fighting to keep their names private," she said on Fox News last year, "they have no legal basis to do so, unless they're a child, a victim, or a cooperating defendant." In January, Kash Patel, the FBI director, told a Senate Committee during his confirmation hearing that he'd ensure "the American public knows the full weight of what happened."

Then on Feb. 27, during a highly publicized event at the White House, Bondi rolled out what the Justice Department referred to as the "first phase" of the release of the Epstein files. It was attended by former Pizzagate provocateur Jack Posobiec and other far-right influencers. They were given binders labeled "The Epstein Files" and "The Most Transparent Administration in History" that contained about 200 pages of documents that Bondi characterized as "declassified." She also suggested that the records would contain previously undisclosed details about Epstein.

Instead, Bondi's big Epstein files party was a bust. It turned out the documents she called declassified, which included pages from Epstein's infamous "black book," had been previously released, most recently during the criminal trial of Ghislaine Maxwell four years earlier. (The black book revealed Trump's name and the names of his wife, Melania, and other family members.)

Trump's followers were irate. Bondi was angry, too. She fired off a letter to FBI Director Patel demanding to know why the bureau failed to provide her with the thousands of pages of documents related to the Epstein investigation and indictment she requested. She wanted answers from Patel, and accountability. ...

[more in the article ...]

JD Vance's 2021 tweet about the Epstein files comes back to haunt him: Aged like milk'
www.independent.co.uk

... An old tweet from J.D. Vance about the Epstein scandal has gone viral after new emails, which claimed that Donald Trump "knew about the girls," were released by the House Oversight Committee.

Now, social media users have said that the vice president's comment from December 30, 2021, has "aged like milk," as it comes back to haunt him.

"What possible interest would the US government have in keeping Epstein's clients secret? Oh ... " Vance tweeted.

The now-vice president did not give a reason for the U.S. Government, the Biden administration, at the time of tweeting, allegedly "keeping the Epstein clients secret."

However, he doubled down on his position with another tweet, which urged journalists to investigate the Epstein case.

"If you're a journalist and you're not asking questions about this case you should be ashamed of yourself," he raged. "What purpose do you even serve? I'm sure there's a middle-class teenager somewhere who could use some harassing right now, but maybe try to do your job once in a while." ...

However, social media users have noted the irony in Vance's tweet. Since becoming vice president, Vance has stated that Trump wants "full transparency" on the issue, despite Trump repeatedly dismissing questions about the Epstein scandal.

[links to his tweets in the article]

The Curious History of 'What Did the President Know, and When Did He Know It?' (2018)
www.brennancenter.org

... A half-century ago an ally helped bring down a president with one simple question.

The Washington Post wants to know. So does the New York Times. So too do The New Yorker, USA Today, The Nation and Salon.

What all these outlets want to know is the same question last asked in another presidential corruption scandal, Watergate, 45 years ago: "What did the president know, and when did he know it?"

The simple inquiry became world famous. But what is less well-known is the story behind the question, and perhaps most surprising of all, that it was asked in order to defend President Richard Nixon.

The person who asked the question was Tennessee GOP Sen. Howard Baker Jr. His party credentials were unassailable. His father was a GOP Congressman and his father-in-law was Senate minority leader for a decade. Baker was the ranking Republican on the special Senate committee that investigated Watergate. ...

House passes bill to force the release of the Epstein files, sending it to Senate
www.nbcnews.com

... The House on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to pass legislation to compel the Justice Department to release all its records related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein -- a major victory for lawmakers in both parties who've been leading the push for months.

As the final vote tally, 427-1, was read, several Epstein survivors who were sitting in the House gallery embraced each other and loud cheers went up through the chamber. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., was the only lawmaker to vote no. ...

The FBI Redacted Trump's Name in the Epstein Files (August 2025)
www.bloomberg.com

So, back in August it was observed that the Trump admin was ~scrubbing~ the Epstein files.

Yeah, your current alias needs to get up to date.

DoJ Official Makes Epstein Cover-Up Claims in Hinge Date Honey Trap (September 5, 2025)
www.newsweek.com

... Schnitt was secretly recorded by a reporter working for O'Keefe, founder of Project Veritas, during what he believed to be a data with a woman. According to Schnitt he met the woman, who gave her name as Skylar, on dating app Hinge.

During the date Schnitt said he was a 23-year veteran of the DOJ who was about to become "deputy chief of our office for a few months starting next week."

Asked if the Epstein files "do exist" Schnitt replied: "There's files for sure. There's, yeah, thousands and thousands of pages of files."

Schnitt said there was "internal conflict" within the Trump administration over how to handle the files. When asked what Attorney General Pam Bondi wanted to do he replied: "I don't know what Bondi wants. Bondi wants whatever Trump wants. She's just a yes-person."

Schnitt went on to say if further Epstein files are released they will be "heavily redacted and his [Trump's] name won't be in it."

He added: "They'll redact every Republican or conservative person in those files, leave all the liberal, Democratic people in those files and have a very slanted version of it come out where it's 'look at what's going on' without really seeing any of their [Republicans'] bad behavior." ...