Stewart Rhodes, founder of the OathKeepers, is accusing the U.S. government's so-called "deep state" of persuading Donald Trump to downplay the significance of unreleased Jeffrey Epstein files.
Speaking to supporters at a Comfort Inn in Texas last week, Rhodes said he believes Trump is losing support from within his base for dismissing renewed scrutiny around Epstein's connections, according to Mediaite. Rhodes told the crowd that Trump's labeling of the Epstein client list as a "hoax" was misguided and alienating.
"It's really disheartening to see President Trump just declare that to be a hoax," he said. "I don't think it is. And I think it's going to cause him trouble in his own base. It already is."
Rhodes, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2023 for seditious conspiracy related to the January 6 Capitol attack, was pardoned by Trump earlier this year. Now out of prison, he has resumed public speaking and cast Trump's role as one of divine responsibility.
"I just sincerely hope that he keeps in mind that God saved him for a purpose. That purpose is to defeat the deep state," he said. "It's not to make great trade deals. It's not to have a great economy."
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