By ELENA SALVONI

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Donald Trump has labelled the Jeffrey Epstein files 'boring' and said he doesn't understand why people continue to be interested in the case, as accusations of a cover-up continue to mount.
The President has shown growing frustration with questions about the files, and shook his head when asked why his supporters in particular 'have been so interested [in the case] and so upset with how it's been handled'.
'He's dead for a long time,' Trump said of the disgraced financier. 'He was never a big factor in terms of life. I don't understand why the Jeffrey Epstein case would be of interest to anybody.'
The Epstein files, a collection of redacted documents relating to Epstein's case, were believed by many to contain the name of the sex trafficker's list of associates.
Trump Attorney General Pam Bondi teased a full release of the evidence, even at one point suggesting a 'client list' was on her desk, but last week an FBI and Department of Justice memo said 'no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.'
The files, said to include a thousand hours of video footage depicting child sexual abuse, did not include evidence of a client list, according to the memo.
The refusal to release the documents has incensed members of the MAGA movement, with Trump allies calling for 'transparency' and some supporters saying they felt 'betrayed' by the backtracking.
Spoke to reporters after landing in Maryland on Air Force One, Trump said of the notorious files: 'It's pretty boring stuff. It's sordid, but it's boring, and I don't understand why it keeps going.'
Avoiding reference to criticism from his supporters and allies, Trump went on: 'I think really only pretty bad people, including fake news, want to keep something like that going.
'But credible information? Let them give it - anything that's credible, I would say, let them have it,' he added.
Facing pressure from MAGA supporters, Trump had earlier said that Bondi should release 'whatever she thinks is credible' in terms of documents pertaining to the case.
He shared a similar statement on his social media platform Truth Social on Saturday, praising Bondi's work while also urging supporters to turn their attention elsewhere.
'One year ago our Country was DEAD, now it's the 'HOTTEST' Country anywhere in the World. Let's keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about,' he wrote.
Asked yesterday whether he specifically was named in the files, Trump said: 'No, no,' before adding that Bondi had 'given us just a very quick briefing' on their contents.
He then baselessly accused James Comey, the former director of the FBI under President Obama, of 'making up' the files.
'These files were made up by Comey, they were made up by Obama, they were made up by the Biden [administration],' he said.
Trump made similar claims that the Democrats were to blame in his series of Truth Social posts on Saturday, writing: 'They created the Epstein Files, just like they created the FAKE Hillary Clinton/Christopher that they used on me, and now my so-called 'friends' are playing right into their hands.
'Why didn't these Radical Left Lunatics release the Epstein Files? If there was ANYTHING in there that could have hurt the MAGA Movement, why didn't they use it?'
On Monday, Republican lawmakers blocked a Democrat-led effort to force the release of the Epstein files.
Republicans for their part pointed out that the files were also not released under previous presidents, including Joe Biden.
Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump said he would have 'no problem' looking into the Epstein client list.
He went on to appoint MAGA proponents of Epstein conspiracy theories, including FBI Director Kash Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, who previously made broad accusations of corruption and abuse.
But these figures are now part of an administration defending the decision not to release the files, with rifts reportedly opening up between Bongino and Bondi.
Back in February, Bondi told Fox News that a list of Epstein clients was on her desk for review.
Questioned by reporters about the claim in recent days, her spokesman clarified that she had been referring to files in the case generally.
Conspiracy theories over Epstein's death in prison and potential evidence in his sex trafficking case, have long been a fixation for the right.
These were once encouraged by Trump himself, but now it seem he would like to move on from the case.
Meanwhile some of his most influential allies have refused, including House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, have called for 'transparency'.
The debacle has left the MAGA movement divided, with leading voices including Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Steve Bannon and Megyn Kelly also joining the call for the files to be released.
MAGA loyalists, among many others, have long theorized that the financier did not kill himself in his cell in 2019, as the coroner ruled.
Trump was friends with Epstein and a neighbour of his in Florida for years, once describing him as a 'terrific guy'.
'It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side,' Trump said in an interview in 2002.
But he distanced himself from the disgraced financier during his first presidential campaign and later said they had a 'falling out'.