
Jeffrey Epstein-related books and TV shows have exploded amid Trump's case-closed claims
The data points to deep public curiosity in Epstein's underage sex trafficking operation, and a possible government coverup, at a time when President Trump is trying to shift attention away from the topic.
Old copies of investigative reporter Julie K. Brown's 2021 book 'Perversion of Justice,' about Epstein, have been snapped up by buyers in recent weeks, leaving the book out of stock all across the web, from Amazon and Barnes & Noble to smaller and independent shops.
Brown said she has been hearing from interested buyers who can't find any print copies.
'I'm told the publisher is printing more copies,' she wrote on X to people who have been asking.
HarperCollins, the publisher, confirmed to CNN that the book is now entering its third printing.
'I hope it reflects that people really want to understand the story from the beginning,' Brown added in an interview with CNN.
A 2016 book about Epstein from James Patterson's true crime series, 'Filthy Rich,' has also climbed up Amazon's sales chart in recent days.
A Netflix docuseries based on that book, 'Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich,' came out in 2020, and gained new viewers earlier this month when the Trump administration said it would not release any further material from its years-old probe of Epstein.
The case-closed message from the FBI and Justice Department fueled an uproar — and a dramatic spike in people searching for more information about the matter.
Google Trends showed a sudden uptick in Epstein-related searches when the government statement was released on July 17, and even higher levels of interest after Trump attempted to quell the outrage.
Similarly, from the first full week of July to the second week, US viewership of the Netflix docuseries rose 268 percent, as measured by minutes watched, according to Luminate, a streaming data firm.
A search of Epstein's name on YouTube, filtered only to show videos uploaded in the past week, found more than 40 videos with more than one million views each. Most of the top clips featured late-night TV hosts roasting Trump and speculated that the president wants certain secrets kept under wraps.
Last Friday, Trump sued the Wall Street Journal for libel over the newspaper's account of a birthday letter to Epstein bearing Trump's name and an outline of a naked woman.
On CNN's 'NewsNight,' New York Post editor at large Kelly Jane Torrance said the new Journal lawsuit might be a 'bad idea' for Trump because 'it's the Streisand Effect all over again.'
'Donald Trump is bringing so much more attention to this story than if he had just ignored it,' she said.
Two recent polls indicate that the public's interest in Epstein and the Epstein-adjacent universe of conspiracy theories does not outrank public policy matters like immigration and inflation.
However, when polled on the topic, Americans say the government should disclose more. 'Americans overwhelmingly suspect that the files contain damaging information about powerful and wealthy people,' CBS News pollsters reported Sunday.
Brown told CNN that she has been even busier this month — with source calls, TV interviews and the like — than she was when Epstein was found dead in his jail cell in 2019.
The reporter remains intrigued by unresolved questions, particularly about the sources of Epstein's riches. 'As they say, 'Follow the money,'' she remarked on 'AC360' last week.
Brown also said she believes government officials 'want to put a lid on this,' and that has made some of Epstein's victims even more anxious.
'I spoke to a couple of them over the past few days and, you know, they're afraid,' Brown said.
Then Brown paraphrased what the sources had said to her: 'The more our government covers up for Epstein, the more fearful I become because I keep thinking, 'Who is this guy? Who are the people that are in these files?''
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump claims he's made a ‘massive' trade deal with Japan
President Donald Trump boasted Tuesday that he had made a 'massive' deal with Japan that would generate 'thousands of jobs' and billions of dollars for the U.S. The president announced the trade framework – 'perhaps the largest Deal ever made' – in a Truth Social post Tuesday, revealing that a 15 percent tax on goods imported from Japan had been agreed. In the post Trump said Japan would invest 'at my direction' $550 billion into the U.S. and would 'open' its economy to American-made vehicles as well as 'rice' and 'other things.' But further details remained scant. The 15 percent tax on imported Japanese goods is a significant drop from the 25 percent rate that Trump, in a recent letter to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, said would be levied starting on August 1. 'This Deal will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs — There has never been anything like it,' the president posted on Truth Social, adding that the United States 'will continue to always have a great relationship with the Country of Japan.' 'This is a very exciting time for the United States of America, and especially for the fact that we will continue to always have a great relationship with the Country of Japan. Thank you for your attention to this matter!' Early Wednesday in Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Shigera Ishiba confirmed the new trade agreement, saying it would benefit both sides and help them work together. 'The government was determined to protect national interests,' Ishiba told reporters, per the Wall Street Journal. Trump's announcement appeared to excite investors, with the benchmark Nikkei – the Tokyo stock market – climbing 2.6 percent to its highest in a year, with shares of automakers also surging. Toyota grew by more than 11 percent, with Honda and Nissan both up more than 8 percent. But American automakers were less buoyed with the deal, with concerns raised over low import levies from Japan, compared to tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico remaining at 25 percent. Matt Blunt, head of the American Automotive Policy Council, said, "Any deal that charges a lower tariff for Japanese imports with virtually no U.S. content than the tariff imposed on North American-built vehicles with high U.S. content is a bad deal for U.S. industry and U.S. auto workers.' Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Driver accused of injuring 37 in Hollywood ramming incident charged
July 22 (UPI) -- Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman on Tuesday announced dozens of charges, including 37 counts of attempted murder, against a 29-year-old man accused of ramming his vehicle into a crowd outside of a Hollywood night club early Saturday. Authorities allege that shortly before 2 a.m. PDT Saturday, Fernando Ramirez drove his vehicle into a crowd of people waiting at a taco truck, for valet service and to get into the East Hollywood nightclub, resulting in 37 people being injured. The county district attorney told reporters during a press conference Tuesday that the San Clemente resident has been charged with a 74-count indictment that, on top of the attempted murder charges, includes 37 counts of assault with a deadly weapon. Of the victims, eight people sustained what Hochman described as "great bodily injuries," while remaking that it was a "miracle" there were no fatalities and crediting the more than 100 responders for acting to prevent the outcome of the crime from being worse than it was. "We understand that this brazen act has shaken the community and but for the good grace of God, this could have been a mass casualty incident," he said. The county district attorney said Ramirez's motive and actions preceding the alleged crime will be revealed in court, while authorities previously said the suspect had been ejected from the club for intoxication prior to the car-ramming incident. Hochman alleged that Ramirez specifically aimed his vehicle at those outside the club. If convicted, Ramirez faces multiple life sentences. He is being held without bond and is expected to be arraigned in court on Wednesday. "Our thoughts go out to not only the victims but to their families and friends as well, because this tragic event in their lives will reverberate forever in their lives. It reverberates in our community," Hochman said. "But, we are here to tell you that Mr. Ramirez will face justice." Ramirez was taken into police custody after being pulled from the vehicle by bystanders and shot in the back in the melee. Police continue to search for the gunman, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a release. The LAPD has released an image of the suspect online. LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell told the public to consider the suspect armed and dangerous. "We're asking the public to help bring this person to justice before another act of violence occurs," he said.
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Man Charged with 74 Felonies After Allegedly Driving a Car Into L.A. Crowd and Injuring 37 People
The man who allegedly drove a car into a crowd of people in Los Angeles, leaving 30 people injured and 7 in critical condition, has been charged with 74 felonies. Fernando Ramirez was charged with 37 counts of attempted murder and 37 counts of assault with a deadly weapon — one count for each of the 37 victims, after allegedly driving his vehicle into a crowd of people on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, Calif., around 2:00 a.m. local time on July 19. 'The defendant's brazen and destructive actions, as alleged in the criminal complaint, have caused unimaginable harm to dozens of innocent people,' Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in a statement. Hochman continued, 'This is a heinous act that left dozens injured, and while the allegations will be tested in court, the impact on the victims is undeniable. Our thoughts are with them and their loved ones as they begin the long road to recovery. We are committed to pursuing justice with care and compassion for those impacted.' Ramirez, 29, was arrested on July 20 and will be arraigned on Wednesday, July 23, in Department 30 of the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles. He is being held without bail. Ramirez, who is a resident of San Clemente, Calif., additionally has an unrelated pending domestic violence case in Orange County, according to a statement from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Los Angeles Police Department Cmdr. Lillian Carranza previously told reporters on July 20 in footage shared by NBC News that Ramirez was "surrounded by a number of individuals who pulled him out of the car" after he struck the crowd. "Somebody in that crowd reportedly shot the driver," she said. "So the driver was transported to the hospital, and he's undergoing surgery, but he's also in stable condition." Read the original article on People