After Cayden McBride finishes class in Rome, Georgia, the 19-year-old goes home, opens his laptop, and starts searching. For the past few months, he has been spending hours at a time combing through the Jeffrey Epstein files on the US Department of Justice (DOJ) website, and following others online who are doing the same.
Flight logs. Transcripts. Images. Videos. The material released by the DOJ has given new insight into the crimes of Epstein, the late convicted sex offender, and into his high-profile connections.
McBride believes the Epstein files still matter, even if the headlines have moved on to the Iran war recently. As a Christian, I don't believe anybody should endure what these women have been through, he says. There is so much bad stuff in these files.
He was a self-described Trump guy and very anti-establishment. He said he would always defend the president in the belief that Trump's Make America Great Again (Maga) movement stood for exposing corruption. However, the DOJ's delay in releasing all the files, and the perceived lack of accountability afterwards, has left him and many others disheartened with the movement, the president, and especially with Pam Bondi, Trump's former attorney general.
Bondi was removed from her post just last week, to be replaced, in the interim, by her deputy Todd Blanche. Trump has lauded Bondi for doing a tremendous job, but Blanche denied reports that his predecessor's handling of the Epstein files had been a factor in her departure.
McBride expressed hope that there could now be renewed focus on the Epstein issue. His wish was granted this week when the Epstein story resurfaced when First Lady Melania Trump denied having ever had a relationship with him and called for a congressional hearing for his victims.
It is unclear how much that will galvanize interest, but Bondi's removal has done little to quiet the discontent amongst Trump's supporters like McBride. He believes she needed to go because she wasn't prosecuting the people she needed to.
He hopes there might be some high-status arrests, but fears that issues such as Iran and the midterms will once again overshadow the Epstein story.
MAGA Fallout Over Epstein
Many Epstein conspiracy theorists have long counted themselves among Trump's most ardent supporters. They believe that Epstein's death in prison was not a suicide, as the FBI has found, insinuating government involvement in a cover-up to protect powerful individuals complicit in his crimes.
This view has been echoed by many of Trump's allies, including Vice-President JD Vance and former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. As far back as 2021, Vance questioned the government's motives in concealing Epstein's clients. Trump has himself expressed intent to release more Epstein files but faced criticism for his changing stance.
By signing a law compelling the DOJ to release thousands of files, he faced backlash from both Epstein's victims and his own party members. Still, some conspiracy theorists remain skeptical about the completeness of the released documents, citing a lack of accountability from Trump's administration.
Will Voters Move On?
Epstein campaigners are hopeful for a transformative shift in the Trump administration's handling of the scandal after leadership changes within the DOJ. Congressman Ro Khanna has emphasized the need for the new attorney general to commit to transparency surrounding the Epstein files.
Supporters like McBride feel that Trump's promises for transparency may have ultimately let them down, leading to a sense of betrayal among those who valued accountability in governance. As the Epstein saga continues to unfold, the future of Trump's coalition and the credibility of his promises remains a point of contention among voters.
