The White House on Thursday attempted to close the door on President Donald Trump’s role in the Jeffrey Epstein saga, rejecting calls from within his own political base for a special prosecutor and casting his recent comments about the “Epstein Hoax” as a swipe at Democrats, not a dismissal of Epstein’s crimes.
00:00Thank you, Caroline. There's been a lot of discussion about the Epstein files and the president's comments yesterday calling it a hoax.
00:06Can you clarify which part of the Epstein hoax is the hoax part?
00:11The president is referring to the fact that Democrats have now seized on this as if they ever wanted transparency when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein,
00:19which is an asinine suggestion for any Democrat to make.
00:23The Democrats had control of this building, the White House, for four years, and they didn't do a dang thing when it came to transparency in regards to Jeffrey Epstein and his heinous crimes.
00:33It was this president who directed the Department of Justice and the attorney general to do an exhaustive review of all files related to Jeffrey Epstein, which they did.
00:42The attorney general and the FBI, led by Pam Bondi, Dan Bongino, Kash Patel, these are great patriots, some of the most trusted voices in the Republican Party movement.
00:51It's part of the reason the president appointed him, appointed them to these high law enforcement positions, and they spent many months going through all of the files related to Jeffrey Epstein,
01:02and they concluded what they found in that memo, which they drafted and they released.
01:07And so the president has been transparent. He has followed through on his promises to the American people, but he doesn't like to see Democrats and the mainstream media covering this like it's the biggest story that the American people care about.
01:19What is stopping the administration from just redacting any sensitive information, grand jury information, and putting out what is appropriate so that the American people can decide and then let this story die?
01:32Well, in terms of redactions or grand jury seals, those are questions for the Department of Justice.
01:37Those are also questions for the judges who have that information under a seal, and that would have to be requested, and a judge would have to approve it.
01:44That's out of the president's control. He has said in agreement with some of the leaders on Capitol Hill that if the attorney general and the Department of Justice come across any other credible evidence,
01:53they should provide that to the American people. The president has said that, and he agrees with them on that.
01:58How did he hire Maureen Comey?
02:00The Department of Justice did, and I would defer you to them. Dasha.
02:03Has the White House been directly in touch with some of the MAGA influencers that are still not satisfied with the administration's handling,
02:10and has the message to them been similar to what the president has said, which is sort of either let this go or we don't need your support?
02:16Well, look, the president and this team are always in contact with the president's supporters, with voices of many kinds on both sides of the aisle.
02:24I think that's part of the reason this president is a great president, because he's willing to listen and hear other people's perspectives.
02:31But ultimately, he has led this country, not just over the past six months to historic success, but also through his first four years as president.
02:39And as the leader and the creator of the MAGA movement, he has led through these perilous times for our country based on instinct and in the best interest of the country.
02:48And as I always say, the American people should trust in President Trump.
02:52The president said that he floated the idea of a special prosecutor in the Epstein case.
02:57Can you confirm that? And has he asked the attorney general to do this, to appoint a special prosecutor, to look it over?
03:04Well, the idea was floated from someone in the media to the president.
03:08The president would not recommend a special prosecutor in the Epstein case.
03:12That's how he feels. And as for his discussions with the attorney general, I'm not sure.
03:16Deanna.
03:16Thank you so much. Do you know what the president's reaction was to Mike Johnson, saying that he wants additional files released, the Epstein files?
03:25Was there a conversation with Mike Johnson about that following his comments?
03:29I won't discuss the president's private conversations with the Speaker of the House.
03:33But as I answered to Jackie's question earlier, the president has said if the attorney general and the Department of Justice and the FBI have any more credible evidence in regards to Jeffrey Epstein's crimes,
03:43they should put that forward. He has called on them to do that.
