President Donald Trump is now ordering congressional Republicans to change the subject if ever asked about his administration’s refusal to release the Epstein files.
During a reception Tuesday evening, Trump told the GOP lawmakers that if they are ever asked about the Epstein files, they should respond by saying that President Barack Obama “cheated on the election”—a baseless lie that the Trump administration cooked up to distract from the Epstein scandal.
“You should mention that every time they give you a question that’s not appropriate. Just say, ‘Oh, by the way, Obama cheated on the election.’ You’ll watch the camera turn off instantly,” Trump said.
Trump is referring to a ridiculous fiction National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard helped create, in which she accused Obama of the “treasonous conspiracy” that Trump’s 2016 presidential election win was due to Russian interference.
Of course, Trump’s own Secretary of State Marco Rubio oversaw a Senate investigation that found that Russia did meddle in the 2016 election and that Trump’s campaign was happy to have the foreign adversary’s help.
Obama, for his part, gave a rare response to Trump’s latest attempt to change the subject from the Epstein files, saying that he was engaging in “a weak attempt at distraction.”
“Nothing in the document issued last week undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes. These findings were affirmed in a 2020 report by the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee, led by then-Chairman Marco Rubio,” Obama spokesperson Patrick Rodenbush said in a statement.
But it seems that Republicans are already heeding Trump’s advice to lie about Obama to distract from the Epstein files. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin used this exact technique in an interview with NewsNation.
“I also completely agree with President Trump, the major story should be what Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released,” Johnson said, after playing dumb about the Epstein files.
Politico reported Wednesday that Trump is “furious” about the scandal his administration created by not releasing the Epstein files. And since the Trump administration claimed that there are no incriminating Epstein files, multiple reports have surfaced showing just how close—and creepy—Trump’s relationship was with Jeffrey Epstein.
The Wall Street Journal revealed a birthday message that Trump sent to Epstein in 2003, which included a drawing of a naked woman along with the text, “Happy Birthday—and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
CNN also uncovered photos of Epstein at Trump and Marla Maples’ wedding in 1993 and of Trump and Epstein laughing together at a 1999 Victoria’s Secret fashion show.
And let’s not forget when, shortly after his breakup with the president, Elon Musk claimed that the Trump administration’s decision not to release the Epstein files was a “cover-up” because Trump is in them.
In an attempt to quell the anger, Trump is throwing meaningless breadcrumbs to his base, saying that he wants the release of grand jury testimony from the case of convicted Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. But experts say that testimony is unlikely to contain evidence implicating third parties.
Related | Is Trump preparing to pardon Epstein’s notorious accomplice?
The Trump administration also said that it will speak to Maxwell—who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence—to see if she has any information that could implicate third parties. But Maxwell’s testimony in those potential interviews would be suspect at best, as she has a motive to lie for Trump in exchange for a pardon.
It’s unclear if that will pacify the MAGA base, which is enraged after being promised for years that Trump would release the files.
For now, the scandal has paralyzed the House, with Speaker Mike Johnson sending the chamber home early for its summer recess to avoid a vote on bipartisan legislation that would order the release of the files.
Now those same lawmakers are going home to face their constituents, who will demand answers on the Epstein scandal anyway. And surely some bullshit distraction about Obama from 2016 isn’t going to satisfy them.