Most Americans disapprove of Trump admin’s handling of Jeffrey Epstein files, poll finds
Donald Trump has been savaged in a new poll revealing just how Americans feel about his handling of the Epstein files.
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Most voters don’t like the way President Donald Trump has dealt with an investigative review of the federal case against notorious paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, according to a new poll out Wednesday.
A Quinnipiac University national survey found 63 per cent of American voters disliked the Trump administration’s approach to the probe of Epstein, a one-time acquaintance of the president in the 1990s and early 2000s — who also associated with Hollywood celebrities, business titans and British royalty.
Just 17 per cent approved of the administration’s actions in the Epstein matter, while said 20 per cent they were undecided.
The “systematic review” concluded last week that the 66-year-old committed suicide in his Manhattan jail cell on August 10, 2019, after being charged with trafficking dozens of young girls for sex — and never had a “client list” of powerful associates allegedly implicated in his sickening crimes.
The two-page memo was unsigned but bore FBI and Department of Justice letterhead — despite bureau Deputy Director Dan Bongino clashing with Attorney-General Pam Bondi and even threatening to quit over the meagre findings and public relations fallout.
“There was … no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions,” the memo noted. “We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.”
Epstein harmed more than “one thousand victims”, according to the DOJ-FBI memo, many of whom were allegedly trafficked to his home in the US Virgin Islands.
The financier’s association with influential figures like Microsoft founder Bill Gates, former President Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew has been the subject of frenzied online speculation since he was found dead in New York City’s Metropolitan Correctional Center almost six years ago.
The odd circumstances of Epstein’s demise included guards falling asleep and cameras outside of his cell not functioning.
Both former attorneys and medical examiners have also theorised that Epstein may not have committed suicide.
A majority of US voters (53 per cent) disapprove of Ms Bondi’s job performance, while 32 per cent approve, the Quinnipiac survey found.
FBI Director Kash Patel is seen favourably by 36 per cent of voters, but 47 per cent disapprove of his job performance.
A slightly lower 41 per cent disapprove of Mr Bongino, and 34 per cent approve of the job he’s doing.
The DOJ previously released records of flight logs and a contact list the financier kept before his second federal arrest in 2019, most of which had already been made public during the 2021 trial of his now-convicted madam Ghislaine Maxwell.
Epstein evaded more serious charges in the mid-2000s as part of a controversial plea deal for soliciting sex from a minor that was brokered by then-Miami US Attorney Alex Acosta, later Mr Trump’s Labor Secretary in his first term. Maxwell is currently serving 20 years in prison as Epstein’s accomplice.
Mr Trump reportedly banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago in 2007 following an incident with a club member’s teenage daughter — before he was first charged with sex crimes — but has rebuffed attacks from right-wing critics that his administration mishandled its probe of the deceased sex trafficker.
“I don’t understand why the Jeffrey Epstein case would be of interest to anybody,” the President told reporters outside Air Force One on Tuesday. “It’s pretty boring stuff. It’s sordid, but it’s boring, and I don’t understand why it keeps going.”
“Anything that’s credible, I would say, let them have it,” he added, suggesting Ms Bondi — who before the memo’s release suggested the “client list” was on her desk at main DOJ — could disclose more information.
“In February, I did an interview on Fox, and it’s been getting a lot of attention because I said — I was asked a question about the client list, and my response was, ‘It’s sitting on my desk to be reviewed,’ meaning the [Epstein] file along with the JFK and MLK files as well,” Ms Bondi said during a Cabinet meeting July 8.
House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans have urged more transparency on the issue, which could lead to congressional subpoenas for federal records — something Democrats have already pushed in some committee votes.
According to the Quinnipiac poll, 40 per cent of GOP voters approve of how Mr Trump handled the disclosure of information about Epstein in federal files, 36 per cent disapprove and 24 per cent have no opinion.
A whopping 83 per cent of Democrats disapprove of the President’s handling of the Epstein files, while 2 per cent approve.
“Unlike Republicans, they [Democrats] stick together like glue. Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this ‘bulls**t’, hook, line, and sinker,” Mr Trump posted on Truth Social on Wednesday.
“Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats’ work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore! Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Epstein’s ex-attorney Alan Dershowitz has recently claimed that there is an FBI affidavit about his late client’s connections that could be made public — and blamed federal courts for blocking the release of those files.
This article originally appeared on NY Post and was reproduced with permission
Originally published as Most Americans disapprove of Trump admin’s handling of Jeffrey Epstein files, poll finds
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