The memo came after years of rabid conspiracy theories, many of which were fueled by far-right figures who now work in the Trump administration. MAGA, to say the least, has not reacted well to the news. Glenn Beck freaked out; Laura Loomer freaked out; Jesse Watters nearly swore on air; Alex Jones literally cried; Chris Christie is pissed; Fox & Friends is issuing warnings; Steven Bannon’s declaring that the GOP is going to lose the House in 2026 (fingers crossed!); even whoever hacked Elmo’s Twitter account, amid a torrent of antisemitic tweets, called on Trump to release the files.
“It would have some names. Those men would have to defend themselves,” Kelly told guest Ben Shapiro. “Maybe the administration doesn’t think it’s a fair position to put them in. Maybe there are questions about the accusers. Maybe there are half-hearted allegations in there that, you know, normally a DOJ would not put out.” She added that ~perhaps~ “there is something there and it’s being covered up and the president blessed it.” You’re so close, Jan.
Next, there’s Dan Bongino, the Deputy FBI director, who, before joining the Trump administration, was a conservative podcaster who aggressively pushed the Epstein conspiracy theories, as well as the idea that the 2020 election was stolen and there’s an anti-Trump “deep state.” In 2018, he said, “My entire life right now is about owning the libs.”
Last week, Bongino threatened to resign and didn’t show up to work on Friday following Bondi’s insistence that there’s no Epstein conspiracy. But he was reportedly in the office on Monday, or, as the Daily Beast headlined their story, “Dan Bongino Backs Down in Bitter Epstein Civil War.” Sad!
Meanwhile, FBI Director Kash Patel was also reportedly pissed, but has, at least publicly, stood by Trump, writing on Twitter on July 12 that the “conspiracy theories just aren’t true, never have been.” Yet, in 2023, he declared on a podcast that the FBI wasn’t releasing the client list because of “who’s on that list,” adding, “You don’t think that Bill Gates is lobbying Congress night and day to prevent the disclosure of that list?” He also instructed the FBI to “put on your big boy pants, and let us know who the pedophiles are.”
Finally, we have the sad Trump sycophants who’ve already sulked into the depression and acceptance stages. Comedian Andrew Schulz said he regrets his Trump vote because he’s not doing anything he said he would—including revealing what really happened with Epstein. And far-right “influencer” Charlie Kirk said he’s over it. “Honestly, I’m done talking about Epstein for the time being,” he said on Monday. “I’m gonna trust my friends in the administration, I’m gonna trust my friends in the government to do what needs to be done, solve it, ball’s in their hands.” Poor guys! Just kidding.
Meanwhile, Trump posted a mini-rant to Truth Social on Sunday, defending Bondi and standing by the DOJ. “What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’ They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB!” he wrote, which has since been memed to the heavens. “We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and ‘selfish people’ are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein.” He’s right about his administration being the talk of the world, but because everyone hates us now.
We’ve seen MAGA civil wars before: over H1-B visas, over Amy Coney Barrett, and over Elon Musk. I predict the infighting will linger for another few days, but I suspect most of the far right will go the way of Kelly and Kirk by the end of the week. Oh well. You know what they say…never meet your conspiracy theories.
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