Speaking at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit(SAS) in Tampa, Florida, Friday, popular American journalist and commentator Tucker Carlson claimed that Jeffrey Epstein worked for Israeli intelligence, specifically the Mossad, as part of a blackmail operation in the U.S.
The Department of Justice(DOJ) concluded that Epstein did not have the long-rumored client list of powerful figures that many believed he had. Additionally, the DOJ reiterated its conclusion that Epstein committed suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019.
The memo has triggered backlash against the administration among President Donald Trump’s supporters, who had hoped the president would facilitate the release of all materials related to Epstein. And many have called for the firing of Attorney General Pam Bondi for the fiasco.
Carlson argued that people should be free to discuss this possibility without fear of being labeled anti-Semitic or anti-Israel. The former Fox News host emphasized that the questions surrounding Epstein's motives and funding sources had not been adequately addressed, and he criticized the lack of transparency from the Trump administration regarding the case.
“The real question is, why was he doing this, on whose behalf, and where did the money come from?” Carlson asked the audience.
“And those are the questions that need to be answered. And I think it’s entirely fair to ask them.
"And I think the real answer is Jeffrey Epstein was working on behalf of intel services, probably not American. And we have every right to ask, on whose behalf was he working? How does a guy go from being a math teacher at the Dalton School in thelate 70s with no college degree to having multiple airplanes, a private island, and the largest residential house in Manhattan? Where did all the money come from? And no one has ever gotten to the bottom of that because no one has ever tried. And moreover, it’s extremely obvious to anyone who watches, that this guy had direct connections to a foreign government.
"Now, no one’s allowed to say that the foreign government is Israel because we have been somehow cowed into thinking that’s naughty. [cheers] There is nothing wrong with saying that. There is nothing hateful about saying that. There’s nothing anti-Semitic about saying that. There’s nothing even anti-Israel about saying that…
"And you have the right to expect your government will not act against your interests, and you have a right to demand that foreign governments not be allowed to act against your interests. [cheers] That’s not creepy. It shouldn’t be forbidden. And yet all of us have trained ourselves to believe that you can’t say that somehow. That that’s like too naughty and forbidden. And the effect of making that off-limits has been to create a lot of resentment and I’ll say it, hate online, where people feel like they can’t just say, “What the hell is this? You have the former Israeli prime minister living in your house? You have all this contact with a foreign government. Were you working on behalf of them? Were you running a blackmail operation on behalf of a foreign government?
"By the way, every single person in Washington, D.C. thinks that. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t think that. I don’t know any of them that hate Israel. But no one feels they can say that. Why? And I think the longer we play along with it, the more subterranean and creepy and hateful the conversation becomes. So, I think it’s better just to say it right out loud."
Trump who had earlier faced criticisms for downplaying and dismissing questions about the Epstein case, sought to again downplay the case Saturday. In a lengthy social media post, he urged his supporters to move on from the case.
The president wrote, "What’s going on with my 'boys' and, in some cases, 'gals?' They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and “selfish people” are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein. For years, it’s Epstein, over and over again.
"Why are we giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration, who conned the World with the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, 51 'Intelligence' Agents, 'THE LAPTOP FROM HELL,' and more? They created the Epstein Files, just like they created the FAKE Hillary Clinton/Christopher Steele Dossier that they used on me, and now my so-called 'friends' are playing right into their hands.
"Why didn’t these Radical Left Lunatics release the Epstein Files? If there was ANYTHING in there that could have hurt the MAGA Movement, why didn’t they use it? They haven’t even given up on the John F. Kennedy or Martin Luther King, Jr. Files.
"No matter how much success we have had, securing the Border, deporting Criminals, fixing the Economy, Energy Dominance, a Safer World where Iran will not have Nuclear Weapons, it’s never enough for some people. We are about to achieve more in 6 months than any other Administration has achieved in over 100 years, and we have so much more to do.
"We are saving our Country and, MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, which will continue to be our complete PRIORITY. The Left is imploding! Kash Patel, and the FBI, must be focused on investigating Voter Fraud, Political Corruption, ActBlue, The Rigged and Stolen Election of 2020, and arresting Thugs and Criminals, instead of spending month after month looking at nothing but the same old, Radical Left inspired Documents on Jeffrey Epstein.
"LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB — SHE’S GREAT! The 2020 Election was Rigged and Stolen, and they tried to do the same thing in 2024 — That’s what she is looking into as AG, and much more. One year ago our Country was DEAD, now it’s the 'HOTTEST' Country anywhere in the World. Let’s keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
Trump's post drew even more furious criticisms online, with many accusing him of desperately trying to cover up for his "Israeli puppet masters."
“We’re running a coverup operation for an Israeli pedophile blackmail ring, and if you don’t stop asking about Jeffrey Epstein I’m gonna get pissed,” one X user wrote sarcastically mocking Trump.
