We live in a country where conspiracy theories run rampant. The underlying cause is a distrust in government. This past week, the case of Jeffrey Epstein has reemerged with results unsatisfactory to many – especially those in the MAGA movement. It is important to understand where they are coming from.
Sometime between 3 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. on November 12, 1941, Abe Reles went out of the window of Room 623 of the Half Moon Hotel in Brooklyn. There was supposed to be police protection. Yet no one was watching him or saw him fall out. In fact, they did not know the exact time he fell – only that it was between 3:00 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. The claim was that he was trying to escape with sheets that could not hold his weight. He had been scheduled to testify that morning against Albert Anastasia, the alleged Murder Inc. mob boss. You would have expected that the police would have had an officer in his room and outside his room at all times, checking on him frequently. What many people think happened is that he was pushed out because he was going to testify – and the police officers who were supposed to watch him did not do so because they were being paid off.
Just like Abe Reles, Jeffrey Epstein also had information that could bring down powerful people. With the notoriety of his case, one would have expected that he would be watched 24/7. Instead – just like with Reles – he was not watched, and the official version is that he caused his own death. The Trump administration provided a video. The problem with the video is that there is a gap of more than one minute. Some believe that the video was modified. Jeffrey Epstein’s brother thinks that his brother was murdered, and that this is a massive federal cover-up. Also, there was no good explanation as to why Epstein was not under constant surveillance. Could it be that it was known that Epstein was suicidal and those in charge were very happy to let him take his own life – thus solving a problem?
Then there is Epstein’s client list. Attorney General Pam Bondi, in February, in response to a question about the list, said she had it on her desk and would be going over it. All of a sudden, there was no list – and Bondi’s explanation was that she meant she would be going through the file. Alan Dershowitz said during an interview on the Sean Spicer Show that documents are being suppressed to protect individuals: “I know the names of the individuals. I know why they’re being suppressed. I know who’s suppressing them.” However, Dershowitz said he was bound by confidentiality rules not to release them. It is understood that Dershowitz’s reference to the documents includes a list. Would it have made sense for Epstein to keep a list? Many believe that there was a list which has disappeared because it would reveal the names of powerful people. Could Trump be one of them? Elon Musk believed so.
Thus, many in MAGA are not buying the official explanation – and some have called for Attorney General Bondi to be fired.
Trump’s first response was to say that no one cares about it anymore. Then on Saturday, he posted on Truth Social:
“For years, it’s Epstein, over and over again. Why are we giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration… They created the Epstein Files… and now my so-called ‘friends’ are playing right into their hands,”
and:
“Why didn’t these Radical Left Lunatics release the Epstein Files? If there was ANYTHING in there that could have hurt the MAGA Movement, why didn’t they use it?”
Bondi said that there were not any lists – so what is Trump talking about with files created by Obama et al.? A reasonable conclusion is that there are files containing a list, but Trump is refusing to release them.
Also, Trump’s calling those in the MAGA movement who have issues with the official report his so-called “friends” is not going to make them very happy. Trump is also defending Bondi.
It makes sense that this would upset the MAGA crowd when prior Trump actions did not. Unlike many of Trump’s schemes to make money for himself and his family – such as deals with the Saudis, UAE, and Qatar, and in crypto, and the almost thousand pages of the so-called Big Beautiful Bill – the Epstein situation is easy to understand.
Epstein had information on powerful people and died under mysterious circumstances, and the government has changed its story regarding the existence of damning evidence. You do not have to be a conspiracy theorist to have your doubts. Abe Reles’ death showed that it happened before – so why couldn’t it have happened again?
Whether or not the conspiracy theorists in MAGA are correct about Epstein is not the point. Those in MAGA are finding out what many of us knew a long time ago: Trump is corrupt and does not care about MAGA – he only cares about himself. Trump promised to drain the swamp, but for many in MAGA, this shows that he is part of the swamp.
Warren S. Hecht is a local attorney. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
