Maggie Haberman Says Epstein Survivors Will Be Problem for Trump: ‘Don’t Think These Women Are Going To Stay Quiet’
New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman told CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins that Jeffrey Epstein’s victims are going to be a problem for President Donald Trump as he tries to move past the story that has dogged him for months.
It has been exactly one month since the Trump Justice Department dropped the bombless bomb heard ’round the world when they claimed there actually was no client list, and no “Epstein Files” worth releasing.
The announcement prompted fierce backlash from supporters that even endangered Attorney General Pam Bondi’s job, and a scattershot series of responses from Trump that included raging at reporters who asked about the story, raging at his own supporters, suing The Wall Street Journal over a hotly anticipated profile of the Trump-Epstein relationship that had Wolf Blitzer hollering “PUBIC HAIR!” on CNN, rolling out a bizarre Obama conspiracy theory for the media to talk about instead, and yelling “Bullshit!” from time to time.
The latest development is a reported dinner/strategy session at Vice President JD Vance’s residence with Trump Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, which was reportedly cancelled and which Vance denied the existence of.
On Wednesday night’s edition of CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins, Collins and Haberman discussed the origin story of the MAGA obsession with Epstein — the Trump officials who stoked it.
Haberman called out the administration’s failure to consider the surviving victims, and predicted “I don’t think these women are going to stay quiet” if that continues:
COLLINS: To the sound bite that we heard, at the beginning of the show, of Dan Bongino, Kash Patel, Pam Bondi, talking about the Epstein documents of what they were going to release.
Given it was these senior officials who were helped — helping and planting the seeds about this — there being a coverup regarding Jeffrey Epstein, do you think they realize how far it’s boomeranged that now some of the victims, and accusers, and survivors, are saying, These same people are now also guilty of a coverup?
HABERMAN: Oh, I think they’re very well-aware that this has become problematic for them. I think that’s been part of the issue for the last couple of weeks.
Todd Blanche, Emil Bove, Pam Bondi did talk about the Epstein files. But Todd Blanche certainly did not make his career talking about the Epstein files. This has now engulfed all of them.
But Dan Bongino and Kash Patel built up credibility with the base, and built up followings, talking about this, as you just showed. So, I think they’re very well aware of it. I just don’t know what it means for the future.
It tends — if no one in the administration is going to acknowledge that the victims, which we really haven’t heard them do so far, Kaitlan? Correct me if I’m wrong. But I’m not aware of any instance, where they’ve spent a ton of time talking about that. Other than, that, We don’t want to release certain information that could hurt victims, but they haven’t said much about the victims who are speaking out against this. If they keep ignoring it, then I’m assuming they believe it will go away, and maybe it will. But I don’t think these women are going to stay quiet.
COLLINS: Yes, it certainly doesn’t seem that way.
Maggie Haberman, as always, it’s great to have your excellent insight and reporting here with us.
HABERMAN: Thanks, Kaitlan.
Watch above via CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins.
