President Donald Trump may be facing a Jeffrey Epstein problem that refuses to stay buried, and one analyst believes it could explode into something far more damaging after the midterm elections.
Political analyst David Rothkopf said on The Daily Beast podcast that the Epstein files "will come back with a vengeance" and that previously unknown revelations could become "much, much bigger stories" between the midterms and the 2028 presidential election.
The analyst gave these comments while they were discussing Trump's response to the criminal investigation into seven former students of Cornell University who were accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a classmate at a fraternity house in 2024.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor after saying she had lost confidence in the local district attorney’s handling of the controversial case. Trump then went off at his longtime political nemesis, James, and showed sympathy towards the accused student.
“I feel badly for whoever she’s looking at,” Trump told reporters, arguing that they would not receive fair treatment.
Rothkopf claimed that Trump's reaction follows a certain pattern and shows the president's own sensitivity to the allegations involving Epstein.
“All of this connects to Epstein,” Rothkopf said, continuing: “Donald Trump's defense of the Cornell kids is because the accusations against him sound like the accusations against Trump that have been made in multiple cases, but are particularly still out there associated with the Epstein files.”
He also added that Trump “knows there are victims out there that are going to someday testify”
Rothkopf said the matter is unlikely to vanish, since Democrats could use congressional committees to raise the issues again and bring in witnesses after the midterms. He also said the controversy might follow Republicans into the next presidential campaign, especially if new information comes to light from the files or congressional testimony.
The authorities have not charged Trump with having taken part in Epstein's crimes, and Trump has denied any wrongdoing in relation to the allegations involving Epstein.
Rothkopf said that Trump's repeated dismissal of such allegations as politically motivated shows he realizes the issue could still have consequences.
According to Rothkopf, Epstein is not merely an old controversy to set aside; he thinks the story may be entering a new phase as the midterms draw near and control of Congress is at stake.
Some Democrats have been campaigning with the Epstein angle. The House Democrats' campaign released a political ad on Monday featuring the family of Virginia Giuffre, who was the first victim of Jeffrey Epstein to go public with allegations of abuse.
Giuffre’s sister-in-law, Amanda Roberts, accused Colorado Rep. Jeff Crank of voting to 'cover up' the Epstein files, showing Trump is not the only Republican at risk of the Epstein blowback.
