Friday featured one more drop within the drip-drip-drip of recent data from the Jeffrey Epstein recordsdata. This time: new footage launched by Home Democrats that function Donald Trump and different highly effective folks like Invoice Clinton, Steve Bannon and Richard Branson, culled from tens of hundreds of images from Epstein’s property.
However Epstein’s associations with these males — none of whom has been accused of wrongdoing by legislation enforcement — have been a matter of public report, and the images by themselves don’t inform us an entire lot.
Certainly, the extra shocking information on this entrance Friday morning may need come from a special supply: a ballot.
The survey strengthened how troublesome impending doc drops may very well be for Trump, particularly forward of subsequent Friday’s massive deadline for the Justice Division to show over what it has to Congress. And that’s as a result of tons and many People – and even Republicans – are inclined to consider, or a minimum of entertain the thought, that Trump was conscious of one thing unsavory.
The Reuters-Ipsos ballot requested whether or not People believed that Trump was not conscious of Epstein’s alleged crimes earlier than they turned public. Simply 18% mentioned it was “considerably” or “very” seemingly that Trump didn’t know. Absolutely 60% mentioned it was “not too” or “in no way” seemingly that Trump didn’t know. That’s a 3-to-1 margin believing Trump knew one thing.
Even amongst Republicans, barely extra felt Trump was in all probability conscious (39%) than leaned towards him not figuring out (34%).
Trump, once more, has not been accused of wrongdoing within the Epstein case, and he has denied involvement.
Nevertheless it’s not simply this ballot that has prompt the general public believes he has one thing to cover.
A Yahoo Information-YouGov survey again in July requested not simply whether or not Trump knew about Epstein’s alleged crimes, but additionally engaged in crimes with Epstein. Round half of People (48%) mentioned they believed Trump had.
However maybe extra remarkably, solely 24% of People doubted that he had. The remainder had been impartial.
And once more, even many Republicans weren’t ruling it out. Simply 55% of Republicans rejected the assertion out of hand. (13% thought Trump had dedicated crimes with Epstein, whereas one-third had been impartial.)
Simply to underscore the outstanding issues these polls are telling us: Three-quarters of People prompt they remained open to the likelihood that the president of the USA knew about and even engaged in crimes with a infamous pedophile. And even many Republicans thought he knew one thing about what Epstein was as much as.
That means that, even when there isn’t a smoking gun linking Trump to wrongdoing, the upcoming launch of extra paperwork may very well be unhealthy for the president, to the extent they preserve mentioning Trump or together with images of him like they’ve earlier than. (As for the images and emails from the property that Home Oversight Committee Democrats have launched, the White Home has claimed a “Democrat hoax,” mentioned the emails “show completely nothing, apart from the truth that President Trump did nothing fallacious” and mentioned the administration “has achieved extra for Epstein’s victims that Democrats ever have.”)
There are some key caveats to what the polling exhibits.
One is that the ballot questions didn’t specify what sort of crimes. Definitely, Epstein is understood for one very particular sort of crime. However maybe the big quantity who entertain the thought of Trump being implicated in crimes owes partly to People largely simply believing that very highly effective persons are liable to commit some sorts of crimes.
Certainly, we’ve even seen this earlier than with Trump particularly. Polling in the course of the 2024 marketing campaign confirmed that voters mentioned 54%-38% that they believed Trump had dedicated “critical federal crimes.” Even lengthy earlier than his indictments, a ballot carried out amid the scandal through which Trump was impeached for apparently pressuring Ukraine for election assist in 2020 confirmed 63% believed Trump had a minimum of “in all probability” achieved unlawful issues throughout his political profession.
So a few of this may very well be baked in.
However as for the Epstein crimes, there isn’t strong proof of Trump’s involvement or information, not like his indictments or the Ukraine scandal.
And it’s additionally seemingly that a few of this owes to the best way Trump has dealt with the Epstein recordsdata and what we’ve realized up to now.
The president has, fairly merely, achieved a bunch of issues that positive made it appear to be he had one thing to cover. That features a sequence of deceptive statements about his previous relationship with Epstein, in addition to his sluggish disclosures about figuring out Epstein confederate Ghislaine Maxwell recruited a minor worker from Mar-a-Lago, Virginia Giuffre.
There are additionally a number of knowledge factors that counsel Trump knew that Epstein had a selected curiosity in younger females, a minimum of. And that’s not simply his notorious 2002 quote about Epstein liking ladies “on the youthful facet.”
The Epstein emails launched final month even confirmed Epstein suggesting in non-public that Trump knew one thing about Epstein and women. “In fact he knew in regards to the women …” Epstein mentioned at one level in 2019, in obvious reference to Maxwell’s recruitment. In one other e-mail from 2011, Epstein known as Trump the “canine that hasn’t barked” and mentioned Giuffre had “spent hours at my home” with Trump.
Given all of that, it shouldn’t be too shocking that numerous People consider the worst and that many extra appear to a minimum of be maintaining an open thoughts that Trump was implicated in or conscious of Epstein’s crimes.
However with lower than every week to go till the Friday deadline for the discharge of the DOJ’s recordsdata, these aren’t the sorts of numbers Trump wish to see.
They usually reinforce the very actual political hazard in all of this for the president. In spite of everything, People have been assuming the worst in regards to the Epstein recordsdata for some time. Trump simply gave them motive to consider he had one thing to cover.
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