As the department of justice formally shut down speculation about a “client list” in Jeffrey Epstein case, old posts and comments from US vice president JD Vance resurfaced, revealing how he once amplified the very conspiracies now engulfing the Trump administration.Before joining the presidential ticket, Vance had been a vocal proponent of releasing the so-called Epstein files. In 2021, he said in a post, “Remember when we learned that our wealthiest and most powerful people were connected to a guy who ran a literal child sex trafficking ring? And then that guy died mysteriously in a jail? And now we just don’t talk about it.”Now, as vice president, Vance is walking back his past remarks. In a recent interview, he firmly defended Trump, saying, “First of all, absolutely not. Donald Trump didn’t do anything wrong with Jeffrey Epstein. Whatever the Democrats and the media says about him, that’s totally BS,” Independent quoted Vance saying from Theo Von’s podcast.The DOJ memo released this week confirmed there was no Epstein “black book” of clients and no credible evidence of blackmail. It also reaffirmed that Epstein died by suicide while in federal custody in 2019. But that hasn’t quelled online outrage among Trump-aligned influencers, many of whom feel betrayed by Attorney General Pam Bondi’s earlier claim that such a list existed and was on her “desk.”As Trump’s press secretary Karoline Leavitt fielded tough questions at the White House and far-right figures like Jack Posobiec and Elon Musk fanned the flames on social media Vance found himself at the center of the controversy.But critics argue that Trump administration is facing the backlash of its own making. Figures like Vance, Bondi, and others spent years stoking conspiracy theories about Epstein, only to now retreat from them as the lack of new evidence becomes undeniable.
