As Epstein Controversy Continues, Trump Administration Adopts New Messaging Strategy: Silence

The case of disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has been dominating the spotlight in recent weeks, bringing newfound fervor to the White House as the Trump administration refuses to release additional materials on its investigation despite massive backlash, including from the MAGA base. In response, the Trump administration is adopting a new and surprising tactic in an attempt to let the case die on its own— complete silence.

When crisis breaks in the Trump era, those closest to the President adopt an all-hands-on-deck approach to defend their leader, often by going on social media or on friendly networks like Fox News. But when it comes to the Epstein case, the usual characters of the White House have shown a desire to stay silent.

According to NBC News, White House aides have made it clear that no one in the administration is allowed to talk about Epstein without high-level vetting. Trump himself has made it clear to members of his administration that he wants the case to blow over by not talking about it non-stop.

"The communications office has to be directly involved in every aspect of this," a senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told NBC News. "every 'i' must be dotted, and every 't' must be crossed through us."

But it seems that the White House has not yet landed on what their message related to the case will be. According to the senior official, the administration is still looking for ways to balance defending Trump on the issue while deflecting inquiries by touting his accomplishments. They also said administration figures will not stop making appearances across the media.

"The questions are going to come, but whether we engage or not is part of the consideration," the official said.

The Trump administration has been struggling for weeks on how to handle the issue of the Epstein case, a scandal they self-detonated when Attorney General Pam Bondi promised in February she would release long-sought files on the case. The anticipation blew into rage this month when her own Justice Department said that it didn't have any such "client list," and other files remain in the administration's hands.

Trump's quick pivot in the case has raised eyebrows among top MAGA influencers, many of whom have come to question his involvement in the sex trafficking scheme. Political operatives in both parties also see the issue as one that is hurting Trump, and claim it could help Democrats.

"Things are, obviously, different with this one," said a Republican operative familiar with the White House's thinking. "This has blown a bit of a hole in MAGA, so reflexive defense mode, as we have often seen in the past, won't always be the go-to. Part of the problem is that this issue has leaked into conservative media. In the past, they [White House] could expect certain interviewers to be friendly and stay on script; that's not guaranteed with this one."

The new communication method comes as a plethora of stories reveal not only the president's relationship with Epstein, but also potential involvement from the administration to suppress materials on the investigation.

Most recently, the Wall Street Journal revealed that the Justice Department reviewed what Bondi called a "truckload" of documents related to Epstein, discovered that Trump's name appeared multiple times, and warned him on the matter back in May. They also allegedly told Trump that senior DOJ officials didn't plan on releasing any more documents because they contained child pornography and victims' personal information.