Donald Trump and his administration continued to face mounting calls to release all relevant Epstein files Saturday, something that prompted CNN’s Michael Smerconish to offer “free advice” to the president about the situation.
Smerconish noted that the administration’s response so far “only invites further scrutiny” and that the president is “acting like he has something to hide, guaranteeing that the controversy stays alive and creates division — not to mention angst within his base.”
Prevailing wisdom is that “the cover-up is often worse than the crime,” Smerconish continued. And while the CNN host made it clear “there’s no assertion of criminal conduct on the President’s part,” he added that this is exactly what makes Trump’s response confusing.
Assuming that “there’s no underlying illicit conduct on the President’s part,” and “the birthday book does contain a submission from Trump, or one that was submitted in his name,” there are a few ways Trump’s overall messaging could have been better, Smerconish added.
Trump could have said something like, “Jeffrey Epstein was a past acquaintance of mine, one of many. I’ve been a public figure for decades, first in New York City, then worldwide. In that time, I’ve met and associated with many people, had my picture taken with tens of thousands over the years.”
“I don’t recall making a submission to his birthday book, but it’s entirely possible that I did. Ever since ‘Art of the Deal’ made me a celebrity almost 40 years ago, responding to requests from friends and the public in general, that was a full-time job,” Smerconish continued.
Trump could have also noted that in the past, “a birthday card from me doesn’t necessarily mean anything more than somebody requested it” and that “given my past association with Epstein, I’d be surprised if my name were not in the mammoth investigation file that assessed his life right alongside of thousands of others.”
With that kind of openness, Trump could then have said, “But here is what no file can document. That I was involved in any bad behavior of the type for which Epstein was ultimately charged in federal court” and pointed out that such charges came “years after I cut ties with him.”
Further, Trump and his administration could have cited that he and Epstein hadn’t associated in at least two decades at the time of the latter’s death, and added, “It’s crazy that a guy who’s been dead for six years has become such an object of morbid fascination. And my only regret is that he didn’t live long enough to allow justice for those that he victimized who have my sympathy.”
Instead, Trump has taken a markedly different approach. On Wednesday the Wall Street Journal reported Trump was told in May that his name appears “multiple times” in documents related to Epstein.
Attorney General Pam Bondi “told the president at the meeting that the files contained what officials felt was unverified hearsay about many people, including Trump, who had socialized with Epstein in the past, some of the officials said,” the Journal noted. “One of the officials familiar with the documents said they contain hundreds of other names.”
