Trump has repeatedly denied prior knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and claimed he cut off their relationship long ago. For a president skilled at manipulating the media and controlling the Republican Party, it has been the most challenging test of his ability to shift the conversation in his second term.

Ghislaine Maxwell’s interview with DOJ prosecutors has sparked questions about whether the Trump administration could leverage a pardon to get her to exonerate Trump.

The 2019 suicide of disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a New York jail cell generated conspiracy theories that he was killed by one of his famous connections.