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Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025

THE LATEST

When President Donald Trump called the Jeffrey Epstein files "a Russia, Russia, Russia hoax" Monday, he was hinting at what he'll do next.

So far, Trump has handled the ongoing scandal surrounding the release of records related to the convicted sex trafficker Epstein with the same playbook he successfully deployed against questions about his 2016 campaign’s contact with the Russian government.

In both cases, Trump has burned through a remarkable number of arguments — some of which are contradictory — as he changes his position in light of new revelations, more of which are sure to come now that the House and Senate have passed a bill compelling their release.

Regarding the Epstein case, he's argued that there's nothing to the scandal: "It's pretty boring stuff." He's tried to shift the focus to his political opponents: "It’s really a Democrat problem." And he’s claimed it is all a hoax: “The supposed letter they printed by President Trump to Epstein was a FAKE.”

If he follows his playbook, then the next argument is clear: Pretend he was exonerated.

This is a preview of Ryan Teague Beckwith's latest article. Read the full article here.

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