Why Trump Can’t Shake Jeffrey Epstein
About this episode
After the FBI and DOJ's July 7 memo concluded Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide and that no client list exists, the MAGA base revolted — so Klein brings in journalist Will Sommer to explain why Trump can't shake it. Sommer traces the QAnon mythology of a Trump-led war on a pedophilic cabal, which Trump and allies like Kash Patel and Dan Bongino indulged on their way into power, alongside the Epstein saga itself: the 2005 Palm Beach investigation, the lenient Alex Acosta plea deal, and the 2019 arrest and death. He describes the White House's disastrous 'Epstein Files' influencer binder rollout, Bondi's claim that a list was 'on my desk,' and Elon Musk's accusation that Trump himself is in the files. The central insight: a movement built on conspiracism now governs, so its leaders can no longer blame a deep state for withholding secrets — the dog caught the car.