Afrasianet - The case of convicted billionaire Jeffrey Epstein remains a heavy political burden on US President Donald Trump and his administration, and all attempts by the White House to deflect attention from her have so far been unsuccessful, says American author Maureen Dodd.
In her corner of the New York Times, the author began with a satirical introduction about the spread of belief in spells and magic in American popular culture, reaching the point that Trump himself may need a "spell" to get rid of the ghost of Epstein, referring to the continued pursuit of him politically and in the media.
Much of Trump's grassroots remains convinced that the full facts about Epstein have yet to be revealed, and that there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding his relationships and extensive network of acquaintances.
Questions remain about the reasons for what the author describes as Trump's lack of transparency on the issue, whether it is to protect figures close to him or to protect himself from potential political repercussions, noting that the previous relationship between Epstein and the president makes it difficult for Trump to get rid of the issue or convince the public that it no longer matters.
An ongoing political crisis
Maureen Dodd pointed to closed meetings held by the House Oversight Committee to discuss the circumstances related to the case, at a time when some Democrats described the dossier as one of the largest cover-up cases in American history, and she also warned of new statements attributed to billionaire Bill Gates, in which he said that Epstein tried to blackmail him using personal information related to his private life.
Comparisons are beginning to emerge between the Epstein case and the famous Watergatescandal that toppled former US President Richard Nixon, and she said that the case has become an ongoing political crisis for Trump, at a time when he faces other challenges at home and abroad.
An important part of Dodd's article was based on information contained in a forthcoming book by journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, about the Trump administration, in which they stated that White House officials were surprised by the amount of interest Trump supporters had in the Epstein case, after they thought that the file was no longer enjoying the same momentum as before, but the continued demands for the disclosure of documents and files related to the case put the administration in front of a crisis it did not expect.
Secret meeting
The account in the book revealed a secret meeting held inside the White House last year to discuss how to deal with the repercussions of the issue in the media and politically, and a number of senior officials and advisers, including Vice President J.D. Vance, participated in the meeting, and various options were discussed to contain the crisis, noting that some of the attendees were convinced that there was dangerous information that might emerge later and lead to more political embarrassment for the administration, according to the author.
Vance was credited with a controversial suggestion to try to capitalize on a potential media interview with Gillian Maxwell, Epstein's former partner who has been sentenced in sex trafficking cases, in the hope that she would make statements that could clear Trump of any suspicions about his past relationship with Epstein.
The author stressed that the case is no longer just a legal or criminal file, but has turned into a political and media crisis that consumes a lot of time and effort within the US administration, and quoted the book as saying that the discussions within the White House reflected a state of deep concern about the potential impact of any new information or testimonies that may emerge in the future.
Maureen Dodd concluded that the Trump administration has repeatedly tried to contain the issue and keep it out of the public spotlight, but all these efforts have not achieved the required success, and concluded that Jeffrey Epstein's name is still strongly present in the American political scene, and that this issue will continue to haunt Trump politically and in the media, no matter how much he tries to distract attention from it or downplay its importance.
Source: The New York Times
