By mid-July, the White House faced an unusual problem: the Epstein story wouldn’t fade—and many core supporters were openly sceptical of the administration’s handling. At a Turning Point USA conference in Tampa, boos greeted a question about satisfaction with the “Epstein investigation.” Allies complained the promised “real story” hadn’t materialized. President Trump, who had socialized with Epstein decades ago but says they fell out before Epstein’s 2006 arrest, privately fumed that the obsession made no sense and asked confidants how to make it stop, the New York Times reported.

How the fire was stoked

The administration had helped set expectations. For years, Trump and several now-senior law-enforcement appointees publicly questioned Epstein’s 2019 jail-cell death and hinted at explos

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