Trump’s Former Adviser Says Administration Should Release Epstein Files: ‘They’ve Painted Themselves into a Corner Here’
A former campaign adviser to President Donald Trump offered some unsolicited advice to his former boss on Wednesday night.
Trump has drawn the ire of some of his staunchest supporters over his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, which he and several members of his administration promised to reveal. However, Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice have reversed course. After saying in February that she had Epstein’s client list, Bondi now says there was no such list. The DOJ also restated its finding that the child sex trafficker killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019.
The president has responded to the anger among some of his supporters by mocking them and calling them “pretty bad people.” He is even now insisting that the Epstein case is a “hoax” perpetrated by Democrats.
On Wednesday’s AC360 on CNN, David Urban, who advised Trump’s 2016 campaign, said the wound is self-inflicted and urged the president to release the Epstein files, details be damned.
Host Anderson Cooper asked Urban, “If this was a hoax or a scam, why didn’t the president say that on the campaign trail?”
“Yeah, Anderson, they’ve painted themselves into a corner here,” Urban replied. “The [MAGA] movement was built on distrust of the deep state, distrust of the government, right? ‘They’re holding things back from you. They’re protecting the rich. They’re protecting the rich and powerful. And we get in, we’re gonna fix all that.’ And now those folks who are calling for the rich and powerful to be held accountable aren’t holding them accountable. And I think that’s really what’s rubbing the MAGA base the wrong way. And they are not going silently.”
Urban then called on the Trump administration to release the files.
“If there’s something there, it should be put out,” he said. “The American people deserve to know what’s going on. If we’re gonna try to reestablish trust in the Department of Justice and with our federal institutions, these are the kind of moves that you need to undertake. They may be painful for some. I understand Alan Dershowitz makes the point that many people on these lists have committed no crime, and they’re going to be painted with a broad brush, but so be it. The American public needs to hear and see from Pam Bondi and see what’s in these files.”
Watch above via CNN.
