即使在唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)总统称他的一些追随者“愚蠢”和“愚蠢”，因为他们一直呼吁他的政府泄露杰弗里·爱泼斯坦(Jeffrey Epstein)文件的细节之后，他的许多最知名的MAGA支持者和国会共和党人仍在要求答案。
他们的呼吁源于多年来知名右翼人士的媒体提示，包括特朗普本人他对被定罪的性犯罪者和所谓的人贩子以及保护据称是他的客户的精英的“深层国家”提出了指控。
迈克尔·弗林等右翼影响者一直在推动这份名单，他们认为这份名单掌握在爱泼斯坦客户的司法部手中，他们在没有证据的情况下声称这些客户是强大的自由派。弗林是特朗普最坚定的支持者之一，他推动了与性贩运有关的QAnon阴谋，他在X周三恳求特朗普重新考虑他关于爱泼斯坦争议是一场“骗局”的说法，认为对爱泼斯坦的指控太严重了，不容忽视。
“在这个阶段，我们想要的只是在我们的联邦政府和它旨在服务的人民之间重建一点点信任，”他在帖子中说。
“我强烈建议，请召集你的团队，想办法解决这个问题。这件事的进展很糟糕，这是不争的事实。美国人希望美国成功，因此，我们需要你们成功，”弗林补充道。
特朗普最坚定的支持者中的一些国会共和党人反对总统放弃这个话题的愿望。
议长迈克·约翰逊·赛义德告诉右翼播客本尼·约翰逊，他支持公布这些文件。
“我支持透明，”约翰逊说。“这是一个非常微妙的话题，但我们应该把一切都摆在那里，让人民来决定。”
特朗普在国会最坚定的支持者之一、佐治亚州众议员马乔里·泰勒·格林(Marjorie Taylor Greene)告诉《纽约时报》，“这绝对是对之前所说的一切的彻底颠覆，人们只是不愿意接受。”
路易斯安那州共和党参议员约翰·肯尼迪星期二对记者说:“我认为美国人民有理由问是谁(爱泼斯坦)把这些年轻妇女卖给了谁——如果除了他之外还有谁的话。如果还有其他人参与，为什么他们没有被起诉?这是一个完全可以理解的问题，我认为司法部必须回答这个问题。”
密苏里州共和党参议员乔希·霍利(Josh Hawley)说，“这是最糟糕的一个，美国历史上最糟糕的人口贩运团伙，由这个卑鄙的家伙经营。我认为我们对它了解得越多，我们出去的越多，它就越好。，周二说。
特朗普的第一个任期结束后，MAGA base关于爱泼斯坦文件的争论在播客、社交媒体帖子和其他有影响的人中有所增加
多年来，现任特朗普美国联邦调查局办公室主任的卡什·帕特尔(Kash Patel)一直在推动与爱泼斯坦调查有关的阴谋，并对“深度状态”提出毫无根据的指控
帕特尔呼吁公开披露爱泼斯坦的文件和其他调查的文件，并在11月辩称，特朗普“可以曝光这些人写了几十年的文件，允许[他们的]腐败活动。”
前福克斯新闻频道主持人、现任美国联邦调查局副主任丹·邦吉诺(Dan Bongino)在他的播客、采访和社交媒体页面上反复提到爱泼斯坦，声称民主党人在掩盖调查。
“听着，那个杰弗里·爱泼斯坦的故事是件大事，请不要就此罢休。密切关注这一点，”Bongino在他的播客2023集中说道。
周三，一些有影响力的人就此事发表了意见。
特朗普的主要盟友史蒂夫·班农向政府施压，要求公布更多细节。
“我和爱泼斯坦的情况有过争论。人们想要问责。他说:“即使是那些对这个故事了解较晚、对爱泼斯坦了解不多的人，他们也认为这里有隐情。
播客约翰逊回应特朗普，将爱泼斯坦的案件与他经常引用的其他“骗局”相比较，认为特朗普应该希望所有关于爱泼斯坦的信息都在那里。
“但我要向总统指出，恕我直言，我们知道所有这些都是假的，都是垃圾的唯一途径是，联邦政府是我们最终获得所有信息的唯一途径...所以，就像特朗普自己的逻辑一样，在这里，我们应该释放一切，我认为这将是所有这一切的一个巨大的压力释放阀，”他说。
Why do Trump's MAGA followers care so much about the Epstein files?
Even after President Donald Trump called some of his followers "stupid" and "foolish" for their persistent calls for his administration to divulge the details of the Jeffrey Epstein files, many of his most prominent MAGA supporters and congressional Republicans continue to demand answers.
Their calls stemmed from years of media prompts from prominent right wing figures, includingTrump himself, who have pushed accusations about the convicted sex offender and alleged human trafficker and the "deep state" that's protecting the elites that were purportedly his clients.
Right-wing influencers such as Michael Flynn have been pushing for the the list that they believe is in the hands of the Justice Department of Epstein's clients , who they allege, without evidence, are powerful liberals. Flynn, one of Trump's staunchest supporters who has pushed QAnon conspiracies related to sex trafficking, went on X Wednesday imploring Trump to reconsider his claim that the Epstein controversy was a "hoax," contending that the allegations against Epstein were too serious to ignore.
"All we want at this stage is for a modicum of trust to be reestablished between our federal government and the people it is designed to serve," he said in his post.
"With my strongest recommendation, please gather your team and figure out a way to move past this. The roll out of this was terrible, no way around that. Americans want America to be successful, therefore, WE NEED YOU TO BE SUCCESSFUL," Flynn added.
“I’m for transparency," Johnson said. “It’s a very delicate subject, but we should put everything out there and let the people decide.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, one of Trump's fiercest supporters in Congress, told the New York Times, "It's definitely a full reversal on what was all said beforehand, and people are just not willing to accept it."
GOP Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana told reporters Tuesday, "I think it's reasonable for the American people to ask who [Epstein] sex trafficked these young women to -- if anybody besides himself. And if there were others involved, why haven't they been prosecuted? That's a perfectly understandable question, and I think the Justice Department is going to have to answer it."
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said, "This is the worst one, the worst human trafficking rings in American history, run by this scumbag. And I think the more we know about it, the more we get out there, the better it is," Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said Tuesday.
The MAGA base's arguments about the Epstein files grew among podcasters, social media posts and other influencers after Trump's first term ended
For years, Kash Patel, now Trump's FBI director, pushed conspiracies related to the Epstein investigation and made baseless allegations about the "deep state."
Patel called for the public disclosure of the Epstein documents and those of other investigations, arguing in November that Trump "can expose the documents that these folks have written for decades, allowing [their] corrupt activities."
Dan Bongino, a former Fox News host and now deputy director of the FBI, repeatedly brought up Epstein on his podcast, in interviews and on his social media pages, alleging that the Democrats were covering up the investigation.
“Listen, that Jeffrey Epstein story is a big deal, please do not let that story go. Keep your eye on this,” Bongino said in a 2023 episode of his podcast.
On Wednesday, some of those influencers sounded off on the matter.
Key Trump ally Steve Bannon put pressure on the administration to release more details.
"I've argued with the Epstein situation. People want accountability. Even people that are late to this story and don't know much about Epstein, they think something's murky here," he said.
Podcaster Johnson responded to Trump comparing the Epstein case to the other "hoaxes" he frequently cites, arguing that Trump should want all the information on Epstein out there.
"But my point to the president, respectfully, is the only way we know that all those are fake and that that's all garbage is that the federal is that eventually we got all of the information ... So, like, by Trump's own logic, here, we should be releasing everything, which I think would be a great pressure release valve for all this," he said.
