The federal government that found and killed Osama bin Laden, tracked down everyone within a mile of the Capitol on January 6, and flew bombers all the way to Iran and back without being noticed is the same entity that now claims it has no dirt on Jeffrey Epstein or his disreputable clients?

Who’s buying that?

After a stunning holiday weekend report that the government has no evidence Epstein “blackmailed powerful figures, kept a ‘client list’ or was murdered,” President Trump was incredulous at the mere question in a presser on Tuesday.

But while he’s right that there are presently more pressing matters, he’s mistaken to think he can make it go away.

The Department of Justice’s peculiar attempt on a sleepy Sunday to close the book on the case is disconcerting, to say the least. Trump’s reelection was every bit a grassroots uprising, particularly against a Deep State that’s been censoring, intimidating and even jailing conservatives – while withholding all manner of the public’s business.

Epstein’s is the most hideous and conspicuous case in history of the sex trafficking of minors. A judge last year called Epstein “the most infamous pedophile in American history.”

Thus, any perceived failure on the part of Trump’s people to bring the deep state to heel in this case will be seen by his most fervent supporters as a key battle lost in the war to hand the government back to the people.

Even the administration’s most sympathetic observers in the media are saying it.

‘Most populist president’ captured?

Michael Shellenberger, writing on the government’s sudden Epstein retreat in his online news site Public:

“If the Trump administration fails to act, it will confirm the fear that even the most populist and combative president can be captured or neutralized by the very system he vowed to dismantle. And it will lose much of the legitimacy it gained by surviving and overcoming the lawfare, censorship, and weaponization of the deep state against it.”

Indeed, the government’s claim that there’s nothing to see here – after Attorney General Pam Bondi months ago seemed to say Epstein’s client list was on her desk for review – is raising questions about whether intelligence agencies are calling the shots.

“For the last decade,” Shellenberger writes, “the media has called the idea that America is ruled by a secret government of deep state intelligence agencies like the CIA and FBI a ‘right-wing conspiracy theory.’ …

“And yet over the same period … these agencies interfered in domestic politics in ways that aligned with that very narrative.”

Donald Trump, more than anyone on Earth, knows the burning sensation of a hostile, unscrupulous intelligence agency. As Shellenberger recounts:

• The FBI launched a surveillance operation against the Trump campaign based on unverified opposition research.
• Dozens of former intelligence officials falsely claimed the Hunter Biden laptop story bore the “classic earmarks” of Russian disinformation, just weeks before the 2020 election.
• The Department of Homeland Security, along with the FBI and other agencies, coordinated with social media platforms to suppress speech under the banner of combating “misinformation.” 

“These actions, taken together, suggest not a shadowy cabal, but a real and expanding infrastructure of state-aligned influence aimed at shaping public perception and countering populist dissent, just as the so-called conspiracy theorists claimed,” Shellenberger argues.

“But now the Trump administration is attempting to sweep the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking scandal under the rug, with the Justice Department claiming that there is no client list and that no further disclosure is warranted …”

Epstein’s intelligence connections

Shellenberger and others have reported on apparent ties between Epstein – a man who no doubt had assembled tons of extortion fodder on his clients – and intelligence agencies.

“Strong evidence suggests that Epstein was part of a sex blackmail operation tied to intelligence agencies,” Shellenberger writes. “Visitor logs show that William Burns, who served as CIA Director under President Biden, visited Epstein’s New York townhouse multiple times. The Wall Street Journal reported those visits in 2023 based on Epstein’s private calendar. 

“In 2017, Alex Acosta, the Justice Department official who gave Epstein his 2008 plea deal, told Trump transition officials that he was told to back off Epstein because he ‘belonged to intelligence.’”

So, no, the book is not closed on Jeffrey Epstein. Not this quick and easy. Too many young girls were raped and otherwise violated as if slaves. And too many of their rich, powerful, degenerate rapists and violators appear to be getting away with it.

Media to mediate?

Christian author and podcaster Eric Metaxas offers the Trump administration a sympathetic bit of advice:

“I trust @FBIDDBongino and @FBIDirectorKash because they’ve earned that over the years. But they need to work on their communication skills with the American people. They need to explain themselves a little bit… Are there no speechwriters?”

Meanwhile, the equally sympathetic podcaster Megyn Kelly – who openly acknowledges FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino is a personal friend – is offering to interview him, Bondi and Director Kash Patel to clear the air.

“I volunteer to do it, because I am not conspiratorial, but I totally understand the Epstein case very well and why people have questions about it,” Kelly said in a recent podcast. 

“I’ll sit down with all three of them. Give me Bondi, Patel and Bongino for two hours. Nothing – no holds barred. I can ask anything, and then the audience can see whether they’re truth tellers.”

Noting her friendships in the administration, Kelly nonetheless says “You have to be able to report honestly on them and to call out b******t when you think you smell it. And I think I smell it. And I’m nowhere near dog poop playground, so I think it’s coming from Washington, D.C.

“I am a supporter of the president, but this is not going well, and they need a shift in strategy.”