Unraveling Epstein's Shadow: Deep State Echoes in Fabricated Scandals
How the Same Network That Created Crossfire Hurricane May Have Left President Trump's Team Holding Empty Files
President Trump's recent Truth Social posts suggest something far more sinister than a simple cover-up: the Epstein files his DOJ inherited may have been deliberately manipulated to include fabricated evidence against him. President Trump draws a telling parallel to the discredited Steele dossier, implying that the same corrupt network manufactured both scandals using identical methodology.
His pointed question—why didn't opponents use damaging Epstein material during the 2024 election if it truly existed?—reveals his suspicion that incriminating files were created after his victory specifically to sabotage his presidency. This theory would explain the contradictory statements from his own Attorney General Pam Bondi, who appears to have been handed poisoned evidence designed to discredit the administration when the truth inevitably emerged.
The deeper investigation suggests that as Crossfire Hurricane prosecutions advance, they may expose many of the same players involved in both the Russia hoax and Epstein networks—likely making the file manipulation a desperate preemptive strike by a cornered deep state.
The timeline reveals coordinated sabotage during the critical transition period. Senator Josh Hawley's December 4, 2024 warning to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray proved the threat was real and immediate. Hawley had received reports that DOJ and FBI employees were destroying records "to conceal misconduct under the Biden administration." His letter warned of "last-ditch efforts to stonewall the incoming administration" during the exact window when outgoing officials could alter or destroy files that would later embarrass President Trump's team.
The methodology mirrors the Russia hoax playbook perfectly. Declassified Brennan notes reveal that on July 28, 2016—just three days before Crossfire Hurricane launched—then CIA Director John Brennan briefed then President Obama on intelligence that Hillary Clinton had approved a plan to "vilify Donald Trump" with Russian interference claims as "a means of distracting from her email scandal." The same trio behind that manufactured scandal—Obama, Brennan, and Comey—had both motive and proven capability to similarly manipulate the Epstein files, with the assistance of the same institutional network of holdover officials who remained embedded within the intelligence apparatus during the Biden administration's final weeks.
President Trump's March 2025 declassification of Crossfire Hurricane materials exposes the corruption network that may have sabotaged Epstein evidence. The documents reveal how the FBI systematically fabricated evidence and paid unreliable sources to frame Trump associates. Informant Stefan Halper received over $1 million in government payments since 1991, with declassified records showing $411,000 during 2016-2017 for Crossfire Hurricane tasks, including $70,000 from August 2016 to February 2017 when targeting Trump's campaign. Even after FBI agents determined Halper's information about General Flynn was "not plausible" and "not accurate," the bureau continued paying him. FBI files note his motivation was "monetary compensation," yet they used his fabricated claims to justify investigating Trump associates.
The same corrupt actors had deep ties to Epstein's network. James Comey's daughter Maurene led prosecutions in both the Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases despite rising from clerk to prosecutor in an unusually short timeframe for such high-profile work. The Comey family's history of protecting Clinton interests—James declaring "no reasonable prosecutor" would charge Hillary over deleted emails—suggests these prosecutions were designed to protect rather than expose the network.
Clinton Foundation connections provide additional motive for sabotage. Epstein's documented financial ties to the Clinton Foundation, including a $25,000 donation through his nonprofit in 2006, though disputed in some records, established relationships between the financier and Clinton allies. These connections would give the Biden-Harris administration clear incentive to ensure any incriminating evidence disappeared before President Trump could expose it publicly.
Recent evidence proves the FBI under Christopher Wray had an established pattern of manipulating documents for political protection. Declassified records show that in 2020, the FBI suppressed intelligence about Chinese election interference specifically because "the reporting will contradict Director Wray's testimony." If Wray's FBI would destroy evidence to protect his congressional testimony, tampering with Epstein files to damage President Trump represents consistent institutional behavior.
Attorney General Bondi's own statements provide the most damning evidence that President Trump's team was systematically deceived. After the February 2025 document release fell flat, Bondi revealed in a March 3 interview with Fox News host Mark Levin that agencies had duped her. "I kept saying, there has to be more. There has to be more," Bondi explained. "I was assured that's it." She discovered from a whistleblower that the Southern District of New York was "sitting on thousands of pages" never handed over. When she ordered the FBI to provide complete Epstein files, they withheld crucial materials, forcing her to launch an immediate investigation into their noncompliance.
Bondi's February statement that an Epstein client list was "sitting on my desk right now" takes on new meaning in this context. She likely received files deliberately mislabeled by outgoing officials—empty folders or fabricated documents designed to embarrass the new administration when the truth emerged. Her clarification that she meant "the file along with the JFK, MLK files" suggests she was given generic case files rather than the specific evidence promised.
The extensive FBI review process supports the sabotage theory. By mid-March, hundreds of agents worked overtime reviewing thousands of pages and videos, yet found no bombshells. Instead, much material turned out to be unreleasable child sex abuse content. This pattern suggests legitimate evidence was systematically removed or replaced with unusable material before handover to ensure nothing actionable could be disclosed.
Trump's logic remains sound: opponents would have deployed real Epstein evidence during the tight 2024 election if it existed. The same forces behind the Access Hollywood tape and Steele dossier wouldn't have sat on genuine ammunition during a close race. The absence of Epstein attacks during 2024, followed by convenient post-victory claims of "discoveries" of Trump connections, suggests deliberate fabrication designed to hobble his second term.
The real scandal isn't what President Trump's DOJ is hiding about Epstein—it's what the outgoing Biden administration destroyed before President Trump could find it. The same intelligence apparatus that manufactured the Russia hoax using paid informants and fabricated documents appears to have applied identical methodology to the Epstein files. They created false evidence trails to discredit President Trump's team while systematically erasing genuine threats to their own networks.
As investigations into Brennan and Comey advance through newly declassified Crossfire Hurricane materials, they may indirectly expose the Epstein file manipulation. The overlapping networks, identical methodologies, and consistent patterns suggest coordinated operations by the same deep state actors. When federal agencies prioritize political warfare over legitimate investigation, justice demands accountability not just for current evidence, but for what was deliberately destroyed during the transfer of power.
Yet hope remains that the truth may still emerge. Despite the Justice Department's recent conclusion that no further disclosure would be appropriate, a new joint court filing reveals the DOJ is still reviewing Epstein-related records for possible release following a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by Judicial Watch. The filing indicates that legal pressure may force disclosure of materials the administration had declared closed. Judicial Watch's persistent FOIA requests, filed after the DOJ's February failures to respond, demonstrate that outside accountability efforts can still pierce official stonewalling.
The real victory will come when those who weaponized government against political opponents—and then sabotaged the evidence—finally face consequences for systematically undermining American justice. Whether through advancing Crossfire Hurricane prosecutions that may expose the same corrupt networks, court-ordered Epstein disclosures, or sustained public pressure, the deep state's document destruction playbook may ultimately be revealed by the very transparency mechanisms they sought to subvert.
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Sources for this piece: President Trump, Reuters, Josh Hawley, CNN, Newsweek, Fox News, Gazette, White House, Politico, Washington Times, Business Insider, Department of Justice, New York Times, Factcheck.org, House Judiciary, National Review, Fox News, The Hill, CNN, ABC News, Axios, The Hill, Politico, Judicial Watch, Business Insider, Judicial Watch.
Excellent article and it makes complete sense.