Epstein memo sparks backlash: Trump allies warn of fallout — ‘You're going to lose 10 percent of the MAGA movement'
Among the loudest critics is Trump's former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who posted a sharp rebuke on social media. 'Please understand the EPSTEIN AFFAIR is not going away,' Flynn wrote in a direct message to Trump, warning that unanswered questions would make it harder for the administration to 'move forward on so many other monumental challenges our nation is facing.'
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon echoed the frustration in a fiery speech at Turning Point USA's Student Action Summit on July 12. He warned that downplaying Epstein's ties and death could fracture Trump's voter base.
'For this to go away, you're going to lose 10 percent of the MAGA movement,' Bannon said. 'If we lose 10 percent of the MAGA movement right now, we're going to lose 40 seats in 2026, we're going to lose the presidency.'
Political commentator Megyn Kelly also weighed in with skepticism on X (formerly Twitter), questioning the credibility of recent law enforcement reviews into Epstein's ties with powerful figures.
'There are really only two options,' she wrote. 'Either there's no huge undisclosed there there on Epstein… or there is a scandal that's being covered up & it's at [Trump's] direction.'
Kelly pointed to inconsistencies in Pam Bondi's public statements as further evidence of confusion or possible misdirection.
The White House memo, released on Monday, states that after a comprehensive review of over 300 gigabytes of data, authorities found no incriminating client list and no indication that Epstein had blackmailed powerful individuals.
It also reaffirmed the FBI's long-standing conclusion that Epstein died by suicide in his New York jail cell in 2019 — not as a result of foul play.
The backlash reached a boiling point after Trump himself appeared to distance his administration from the controversy, calling it a distraction driven by Democrats.
'For years, it's Epstein, over and over again,' Trump posted on Truth Social. 'Why are we giving publicity to files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the losers and criminals of the Biden administration?'
His post left many longtime supporters stunned — especially after Bondi's earlier comments raised hopes that long-sought revelations were finally coming.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
19 minutes ago
- Time of India
Evening news wrap: Shux returns to Earth; Tesla enters Indian market; Trump presses Ukraine to strike Russia, and more
There were major developments across space, politics, diplomacy, and business on Tuesday. India's astronaut returned safely from space, while Tesla finally opened its first showroom in Mumbai. In global affairs, Donald Trump made headlines for a sharp shift in his Ukraine policy amid the latter's war with Russia, and Rahul Gandhi took a dig at India's foreign minister over China talks. Back home, the government had to step in to clear confusion over warnings on popular Indian snacks. Here's a quick look at the top stories making news: Shux returns home as Grace splashes down safely in the Pacific Ocean Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla (Shux) has returned to Earth safely with Grace — the Dragon capsule the Axiom-4 crew members were travelling in — splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego in Southern California, around 3.02pm. Read full story No health warnings for Samosas, jalebis: PIB issues statement; calls claims fake The Press Information Bureau (PIB), the government's fact-checking wing, refuted claims that the Union health ministry directed vendors to carry warning labels on relished Indian snacks and desserts like samosas, jalebi, and laddoo. "The advisory of the Union Health Ministry does not carry any warning labels on food products sold by vendors, and has not been selective towards Indian snacks. Some media reports claim that the @MoHFW_INDIA has issued a health warning on food products such as samosas, jalebi, and laddoo," the PIB posted on X. Read full story Tesla drives into India: Elon Musk's EV giant opens first showroom in Mumbai; from prices to market strategy Elon Musk owned Tesla has officially entered the Indian market with the opening of its first showroom at Mumbai, marking a major milestone for the American EV maker, as it unveiled two Model Y vehicles on display. The move follows a teaser from Tesla's India-focused X handle last Friday, hinting at a July 2025 launch with a post that simply read 'Coming soon,' accompanied by a graphic referencing its India debut. Read full story 'Can you hit Moscow?' Trump asks Zelenskyy to strike deep inside Russia - report In a dramatic shift from his earlier hands-off rhetoric, US President Donald Trump privately urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to step up strikes inside Russian territory, even asking him directly if Ukraine could hit Moscow and St. Petersburg, if given the right weapons, reported the Financial Times. Read full story SCO meet: Rahul Gandhi takes dig at Jaishankar 'apprising' China's Xi; calls it 'full-blown circus' Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a sharp dig at external affairs minister S Jaishankar for apprising Chinese President Xi Jinping on bilateral ties, calling it a "full-blown circus" that, in his view, is "destroying India's foreign policy"."I guess the Chinese foreign minister will come and apprise Modi about recent developments in China-India ties. The EAM is now running a full blown circus aimed at destroying India's foreign policy," the Lok Sabha leader of the opposition posted on X. Read full story
Time of India
21 minutes ago
- Time of India
Donald Trump issues 50-day warning to Russia: End Ukraine war or face 100% tariffs on allies, Kremlin fires back
US President Donald Trump has warned that his administration will impose 100% 'secondary tariffs' on nations that continue to trade with Russia unless Moscow ends its war in Ukraine within the next 50 days. Trump made this announcement during a joint appearance at the White House with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, signalling frustration over the ongoing conflict. 'I thought we would have had a deal two months ago,' Trump said, expressing disappointment in Russian President Vladimir Putin and a lack of progress on peace talks. The US president has long floated the idea of secondary sanctions to isolate Moscow economically and now appears set to act if his demands are not met. Russia says it's open to talks, but not under pressure Responding to Trump's remarks, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stated on Tuesday that Moscow is willing to negotiate. However, he added that Russia 'did not warm to ultimatums,' making it clear that the Kremlin has no intention of yielding to external threats. While there has been no formal response to the 50-day deadline, Ryabkov's comments indicate a reluctance to engage in talks under coercion. The Kremlin's position comes at a time when Russia has stepped up aerial attacks on Ukraine, with drone and missile strikes targeting civilian and military infrastructure. UN data shows that June 2025 witnessed the highest number of civilian casualties in three years, with 232 deaths and 1,343 injuries. NATO announces arms deal to strengthen Ukraine's defence Alongside the tariff warning, Trump confirmed that a significant NATO weapons deal has been finalised to support Ukraine's defence. The agreement includes deliveries of US-manufactured Patriot missile systems—currently the only systems Ukraine has that can intercept Russian ballistic missiles. According to NATO chief Rutte, several countries—Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, and Canada—are participating in the agreement. 'Speed is of the essence here,' he said, stressing the urgency in delivering equipment to the battlefield. Trump added that 'billions of dollars' worth' of military supplies would be purchased by NATO allies and distributed swiftly. He also mentioned that 'one country has 17 Patriot systems getting ready to be shipped,' and confirmed that Norway will contribute missile batteries. Rutte also noted that the deal is being designed to accommodate the stockpile needs of the US military. Ukraine's defences are under pressure amid growing attacks The latest phase of Russia's aerial campaign has heavily strained Ukraine's air defence capabilities. Despite a 70% interception rate, the high frequency of strikes has allowed multiple drones and missiles to reach their targets. According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, Russia launched ten times more drones and missiles in June 2025 compared to the same month in 2024. The sharp escalation has led to significant destruction and civilian harm, increasing pressure on NATO and the US to expedite arms deliveries. Trump has cited examples like India-Pakistan and Rwanda–DR Congo to argue that trade pressure can help end wars. 'We've been very successful in settling wars with trade,' he said. With 50 days on the clock, Trump's tariff ultimatum introduces a new phase of international pressure. But with Russia rejecting threats and violence escalating on the ground, the road to any resolution remains uncertain.
Hindustan Times
26 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Trump May End Up Sorry He Tried to Control the Fed
Our conspiracy-minded, deep-state-vigilant president has suggested that there is no great scandal surrounding the life and death of Jeffrey Epstein, but there is a Jerome Powell scandal. While we are assured that Mr. Epstein's long history of ties to politicians, royals, Wall Street figures and others stemmed only from the man's generous hospitality, magnetic personality and promise of evenings of Socratic interlocution, Mr. Powell's sin is to be the first bureaucrat in history to oversee large overruns in a construction budget. It seems renovations to the Federal Reserve's new headquarters in Washington are on the lavish side, and the chairman might even have been a little economical with the truth in his public accounting for them. Scandals, like beauty, are in the eye of the beholder. They play an instrumental role. We choose to believe a conspiracy because it suits our larger narrative and discount another when it doesn't. My conspiracy is your screw-up. So it must be that the 'Epstein Files,' whatever they are, aren't as helpful to Donald Trump and his conspiracy sniffer dogs as they'd hoped. Perhaps even unhelpful. Mr. Powell's architectural transgressions, however, are very helpful. It is no secret that Mr. Trump wants the Fed chairman gone. Just last week he was complaining again about the man he calls 'Too Late Powell,' telling reporters he was doing a 'terrible job' and that interest rates should be '3 points lower' than the current target 4.25% to 4.5% fed-funds rate. I shall refrain from the pearl-clutching of much of the media about Mr. Trump's efforts to pressure the Fed to be more accommodating. Since the Fed gained true independence in the 1950s, almost every president has complained that the central bank was holding back the economy with high interest rates. What's more, there are reasonable grounds for thinking Mr. Powell has gotten things badly wrong. Even the Fed agrees it was too slow in responding to the inflationary surge that followed the Covid-19 pandemic. You don't have to believe the theories that a politically partisan Mr. Powell worked to help President Biden and harm Mr. Trump to think he erred repeatedly on the side of easy money in the past four years and may now be overestimating the inflationary risk today. The problem, though, is that replacing him with someone committed to doing Mr. Trump's bidding would make things much worse. If it's true that Arthur Burns, Fed chairman under President Richard Nixon, said that the Fed's independence is 'so precious that we dare not risk exercising it,' it is also true that the central bank's incompetence is so proprietary that a president dare not risk trying to correct it. However bad Fed policy is, if markets think the central bank is run according to the president's priorities, the likely consequence will be tighter, not easier, money. If Mr. Trump could really find a person on the planet who thinks rates should be '3 points lower' than they are—pushing the policy rate down to 1.25%, a negative real rate of about 1.5% in an economy the president himself touts as 'booming'—yields on everything from Treasurys to corporate bonds would surge on confident expectations that the Fed was lighting an inflationary bonfire. Central-bank independence isn't divinely ordained. The Fed's policymaking framework was largely set by the Treasury until 1951. Most countries have had independent central banks only in the past 50 years—in the post-Bretton Woods global monetary regime. There are lots of reasons—from gold to crypto to artificial intelligence—to think our current model of monetary-policy management may need an overhaul. But there's one important sense in which independence is more important now than ever. The crisis of democracy on display in Washington—in which fiscal prudence has been completely sacrificed to immediate political objectives—is precisely why we need a monetary-policy architecture that constrains rather than amplifies politicians' desires. There's another sense in which Mr. Trump should be careful what he wishes for. History suggests the propulsive logic that makes central banks lean against political preferences is hard to shake, even by a determined president. Ronald Reagan tangled repeatedly with Paul Volcker in the 1980s and eventually replaced him with Alan Greenspan. Five years later his Republican successor, George H.W. Bush, blamed Mr. Greenspan in part for his re-election defeat after the Fed kept policy tight during the 1992 recession. In his epic history of the Fed, the late Allan Meltzer recounts the case of Harry S. Truman and William McChesney Martin. In 1951 the Fed was chafing under the Treasury's monetary control, forced to cap bond yields at 2.5% to assist in the Korean War effort. Martin was the Treasury official running point, and when Truman forced out Fed chairman Thomas McCabe, he replaced him with his favorite at Treasury. The new Fed boss promptly became one of the most famously hawkish central-bank governors, royally infuriating a succession of presidents, starting with Truman himself, who, it is said, later called Martin a 'traitor.' Surely that would never happen to Mr. Trump?
