July 13, 2025.

This weekend saw the development of an extraordinary rift in MAGA world.

The conflict began last Monday when the Department of Justice, or DOJ,

released a memo saying that it had conducted

a thorough review of all the evidence the department had collected about convicted sex

abuser Jeffrey Epstein, who died in his prison cell in 2019, awaiting trial on additional

sex trafficking charges. The memo said that the department's systematic review revealed no incriminating client list,

and that there was no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions.

It said the DOJ and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI, which operates within the DOJ,

had determined that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.

The memo also said FBI investigators had concluded that Epstein died by suicide,

releasing footage from a camera from

the unit in which Epstein was being held at the time of his death. For years now, Trump and

his loyalists have claimed Epstein was murdered to protect the rich and powerful men who were

preying on children. This theory dovetailed with the Q&ON conspiracy theory that Trump was

combating a secret ring of cannibalistic child molesters who included democratic politicians,

government officials, film stars, and businessmen. MAGA influencers, including Cash Battal and Dan

Bongino, pushed the Epstein theories and MAGA influencers, including Cash Patel and Dan Bongino, pushed the Epstein theories, and MAGA

followers believed them, hoping to bring down Democratic politicians like the Clintons.

Once in power, they vowed, they would release the client list and provide the truth about

Epstein's death. In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi told the Fox News Channel that the client list was sitting on my desk right now. Patel is now the director of the FBI, in part because MAGA senators like Marsha Blackburn, a Republican of Tennessee, believed he would release more information on Epstein and child sex trafficking rings.

And Bongino is the FBI's deputy director.

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