Donald Trump shuts down reporter who asked Jeffrey Epstein question following release of CCTV footage
If it's got anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein, Donald Trump doesn't want to know.
The disgraced financier's name has been hitting the headlines once again over the last few weeks, six years after he committed suicide in prison.
Conspiracy theories about both his death in August 2019 and his catalogue of horrific crimes have run rampant since then - and now, they certainly aren't slowing down.
Amid the constant speculation about Epstein's suicide being an orchestrated killing and which celebrities were allegedly incriminated in his little black book, US authorities stepped in.
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In May this year, the FBI announced it would release CCTV footage, which would supposedly 'prove' the 66-year-old took his own life, weeks after Epstein's most vocal accuser, Virginia Giuffre, died.
Bizarrely, Elon Musk then claimed that President Donald Trump was 'in the Epstein files', alleging that's why 'they have not been made public'.
These unsealed documents were part of a lawsuit filed against Epstein's ex-partner Ghislaine Maxwell in 2015 by the late Virginia Giuffre - and they consist of documents, videos, and investigative materials.
Musk then started to call for the release of the 'unredacted' files, just days before the FBI lived up to its promise and dropped the footage of Epstein's last moments in prison.
But for a lot of people, this ended up raising more questions than answers - but frankly, it seems that Donald Trump doesn't want to talk about the topic any longer.
What we know about Epstein footage
The FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) released 11 hours of CCTV footage recorded in New York's Metropolitan Correctional Centre which captured Epstein's final movements on film.
It shows the exterior of the cell he was confined to while awaiting trial on a slew of sex trafficking charges, but the clip is largely uneventful.
What it did capture though, was Epstein being walked into the lock-up by prison guards at 7:49pm on 9 August, 2019, hours before he is said to have taken his own life.
According to the FBI and the DOJ, the fact that there was no other foot traffic captured in the footage from this moment onwards 'proves' that Epstein carried out the suicide himself.
Both believe that this easily debunks theories that the businessman was murdered, as the camera would have seen anyone who went to the door and entered the cell.
Eagle-eyed viewers then spotted that there was a missing minute in the 11-hour video - but according to US Attorney General Pam Bondi, it's simply down to a technological glitch.
She claimed that the 'lost minute' - which takes place at 11.59pm, as the time switches from 11.58.59pm to midnight - was due to the correctional facility's outdated system.
"There was a minute that was off the counter, and what we learned from the Bureau of Prisons is every night they redo that video...every night should have the same minute missing," Bondi said, as per ABC News.
Trump shuts down reporter
During a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday (8 July), President Trump essentially told a reporter to change the record when they asked a question about Epstein.
The journalist had tried to ask Bondi about why she previously stated that Epstein's client list was 'sat on her desk' waiting to be reviewed back in February, since officials have since made a U-turn on this.
However, the commander-in-chief interjected before the Attorney General could muster up an answer and coldly shut down the reporter.
The President said: "Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy's been talked about for years!
"We have Texas, we have this, we have all of the things that... and are people still talking about this guy, this creep? That is unbelievable.
"I can't believe you're asking a question on Epstein at a time like this, when we're having some of the greatest success - and also tragedy, with what happened in Texas.
"It just seems like a desecration."
Why FBI says no ‘client list’ exists
After Trump finished giving the reporter a dressing down for daring to ask a question about Epstein, Bondi decided to answer the question which was posed to her.
Her comment about the list being sat on her desk months ago has come back to haunt her, as the FBI and DOJ have now said there was no evidence to suggest Epstein owned a ‘client list’ that he wielded for blackmailing purposes.
"This systematic review revealed no incriminating 'client list,'" the report said. "There was also no evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions.
"We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties."
It went on to say that much of the recovered Epstein material showed there had been thousands of victims and included specific details about these victims, such as likeness, places of birth and associates.
But still, people can't get their heads around why Bondi would seemingly allude to the fact that the client list existed - but according to the Attorney General, she simply made a slip of the tongue when she said it.
"In February, I did an interview on Fox, and it’s been getting a lot of attention because I was asked a question about the client list," Bondi said.
"My response was, it’s sitting on my desk to be reviewed - meaning the file, along with the JFK, MLK files as well. That’s what I meant by that."
Elon Musk doesn't seem convinced by this though, seeing him share a scathing response on his social media platform, X.
Topics: Donald Trump, Jeffrey Epstein, US News, Weird, Elon Musk
Olivia Burke