There were generally two kinds of stories: the ones you chased and the ones that chased you.
-Frances Wren, Earthflown
The established fact pattern as of March 1, 2025 vis a vis the Epstein files:
- Attorney General Pam Bondi claims on February 21 that she has the Epstein client list “sitting on her desk right now,” all set to be published
- On Thursday, February 27, Bondi hosts over a dozen MAGA “influencers” prominent on X, many of which you might be familiar with, for a grand reveal of the files
- The influencers receive binders labeled allegedly containing the promised files labeled "The Epstein Files: Phase 1."
- Afterward, the influencers pose outside of the White House for the media cameras, holding up the binders as if they are some kind of big game trophy
- Said influencers take to X and elsewhere to post selfies of themselves holding said binders for engagement farming. Some describe the scoop as “exclusive.”
- It turns out, we learn, that the binders contain nothing of news value whatsoever. There is no Epstein client list; there is no information.
- Bondi releases a letter claiming that, actually, despite claiming that she had the files “on her desk” almost a week earlier, the FBI only gave her 200 documents and was stonewalling the full disclosure — a revelation she had never made publicly while making multiple media appearances to hype the files she had “on her desk” and was ready to distribute to the public
Related: John McCain's Widow: 'We All Knew What Epstein Was Doing'
The government’s failure here is clear, even if the details are scant: someone is lying to the public and covering for whatever interests desperately want to keep the Epstein files secret.
But what about the “influencers” who allowed themselves, wittingly or not, to be used in this weird stunt?
Via New York Post (emphasis added):
The Justice Department released a handful of files on notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein on Thursday — though there appear to be no new names or details.
The info first went out to a hand-selected crop of right-wing social media influencers Thursday afternoon — and even those recipients were underwhelmed by what the documents revealed….
When the conservative social media personalities began livestreaming footage of the content after The Post’s initial report, they revealed files that were long available in the public record — such as flight logs — and that all of the boldfaced names in the contact list already were known from prior disclosures…
The document appeared to be a copy of Epstein’s “black book” that was first published in 2021 and later put up for auction.
In light of the fact that this all pertains to a child sex trafficking ring with hundreds of victims, the optics are obscene. Whoever cooked this scheme up in the White House press office failed abysmally.
The grift never stops. pic.twitter.com/hbnScbUJg6
— maria (@mymaria777) February 27, 2025
But wait, there’s more!
After the historic summit to reveal what was already known four years ago, these influencers were then seen sharing social media posts with identical talking points, which would presumably indicate some kind of centralized rather than “independent” media operation.
BREAKING: Social media influencers who received the Epstein binder were caught posting identical messages, making it seem like a coordinated advertisement. pic.twitter.com/QEKYI7Adc7
— The General (@GeneralMCNews) February 27, 2025
I don’t know what that looks like to you, but to me it appears to be the current administration grooming influencers to push out White House talking points — in much the same way that the Biden regime did, rightfully scorned and mocked by us on the outside looking in.
Related: Techno-Hell: The Rise of the 'COVID-19 Influencer'
The White House, of course, is free to invite whomever it likes to discuss whatever it likes within the confines of the law. But wining and dining “influencers” and making them feel special with exclusive binders full of hot air — repackaged news items from four years ago — apparently designed to obfuscate the fact that there are no Epstein files forthcoming shouldn’t inspire confidence in people who rely on them for information.
It’s definitely not “radical transparency.”
Great meeting today with some very influential social media content creators!
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) February 27, 2025
These folks have larger followings than most mainstream media “reporters”
The media landscape has changed, and we are fully embracing it here at the Trump White House! pic.twitter.com/y15MCPZBM0
