How Epstein Files Frustrate White House

Wall Street Journal: “When the Justice Department released its last trove of millions of files about Jeffrey Epstein, President Trump found himself in the same place he had spent a year trying to avoid — dealing with the fallout, again.”

“The files showed his own commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, had visited with Epstein long after Lutnick said they had cut ties.”

“Lutnick had to publicly explain his past statements, provoking a direct conversation with Trump, according to administration officials familiar with the matter. Trump questioned why he previously denied connections to Epstein when he knew he had visited Epstein’s island, the officials said.”

“The latest episode started during a conference call just before Christmas, when aides broke the news to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche that another million documents attorneys believed were likely duplicates in fact weren’t.”

“Blanche sighed in exasperation, eventually alerting senior White House aides, who shared his anger and received updates for days, according to administration officials. In the ensuing weeks, the agency ordered hundreds of additional prosecutors to review the files, working through weekends to redact sensitive information and at times plying them with pizza to keep going at night.”