White House aides have made it clear that no one in the administration is allowed to talk about Epstein without high-level vetting as Trump attempts to change the subject.

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the national intelligence director, Tulsi Gabbard is responsible for guarding America’s secrets and discovering threats from overseas. But when she made a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room Wednesday, her targets were President Donald Trump’s political enemies.

Any time I say anything about Epstein, they’re like, ‘Why didn’t Joe Biden’s — why didn’t Joe Biden release the files?’ And this is what I say: Have you met Merrick Garland?” Tanden

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President Donald Trump Friday refused to rule out pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell as the sex-trafficking accomplice of Jeffrey Epstein met for a second day with a top Justice Department official behind closed doors.

He—the president, their leader, the martyr who had endured scandals and prosecution and an assassin’s bullet on their behalf—had repeatedly told them it was time to move on, and that alone should suffice. Why, he groused, would the White House add fuel to the fire, would it play into the media’s narrative?

Kentucky GOP Rep. Thomas Massie has blasted the Justice Department for its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. Speaking with NBC’s Meet the Press, the Kentucky representative addressed a July 6 memo from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation concluding that Epstein died by suicide in jail while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019 and that no “client list” of wealthy co-conspirators exists.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he is not calling for the “prosecution” of former President Barack Obama but does want an “investigation” after President Donald Trump accused Obama of committing treason.