A secret meeting between Attorney General Pam Bondi and Ghislaine Maxwell has ignited fury within the Maga movement, with critics accusing the Trump administration of covering up the Epstein affair. The meeting, which was not disclosed publicly, came to light following the release of a Justice Department memo stating that a review of the Epstein files found no incriminating 'client list' or evidence of blackmail.
The memo, released after the Fourth of July holiday weekend, has caused turmoil among Trump's supporters, who have long demanded the release of the Epstein client list. Many in the Maga movement believe the list would expose a network of liberal elites involved in Epstein's child sex-trafficking operation. The memo's conclusion that no such list exists has been met with disbelief and accusations of a cover-up.
Prominent right-wing figures have called for Bondi's resignation over her handling of the Epstein files. Benny Johnson described Trump's response as the worst he had ever seen, while Michael Flynn urged Trump to understand that the Epstein affair is not going away. Matt Walsh labelled Trump's statement as extremely obtuse, saying, 'We don't accept obvious bullshit from our political leaders.'
The controversy highlights how QAnon conspiracy theories have become mainstream within the Maga movement. QAnon, which emerged in 2017, posits that a cabal of government elites is covering up a global child sex-trafficking ring. Epstein's 2019 arrest and subsequent death in jail have fuelled these theories, with sleuths poring over flight logs and photographs for clues.
Experts note that the intertwining of QAnon and Maga has led to the embrace of fringe narratives by mainstream political figures. Jon Lewis of George Washington University said that as the two movements have become increasingly intertwined, we have seen the adoption of extremist conspiracies like 'Pizzagate' by political figures. The Epstein files have become a vehicle for these theories, with Trump's promise to declassify them now causing a rift within his own base.
