Trump Says It’s Totally ‘Fine’ To Retweet An Epstein Death Conspiracy Theory

WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 09: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the press prior to his departure on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House on August 9, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chen M... WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 09: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the press prior to his departure on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House on August 9, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chen Mengtong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

President Trump believes it is completely fine that he, as President of the United States, retweeted a conspiracy theory about a link between former President Bill Clinton and the death of billionaire financier and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump claimed it was “fine” for him to perpetuate the far-right conspiracy because the person he retweeted, Terrence K. Williams, has a “lot of followers.”

“He’s a very highly respected conservative pundit, he’s a big Trump fan. That was a retweet, that wasn’t from me, that was from him. But he’s a man with a half a million followers, a lot of followers,” Trump told reporters about Williams, a comedian and conservative pundit who’s been criticized in the past for saying racist things on Fox News. “The retweet was from somebody who is a very respected conservative pundit, so I think I was fine.”

Trump also suggested that his retweet was admissible because Attorney General Bill Barr had opened an investigation into the Epstein’s death.

“As you know, Bill Barr wants to do an entire investigation of the whole Epstein matter. What happened, he’s been going on for a long time, the whole Epstein episode, and I know it’s under investigation by Attorney General Barr,” he said. “I want a full investigation, and that’s what I am absolutely demanding.”

Epstein was found dead in his jail cell on Saturday, where he was awaiting trial for federal charges that he ran a sex trafficking ring with underage girls in the early 2000s.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. Avatar for eglot eglot says:

    Of course, everytime I go to Twitter, Trump’s posts show up with the intro: “Presudent Trump” retweeted." Who retweets their own posts?

  2. Can we just go ahead and impeach the motherfucker already? Sigh.

  3. Avatar for hello hello says:

    After all it was Epstein who introduced Melania to Donald. You can tell a lot about a person from their friends.

  4. “Everything I do is totally fine. It says so in Article II of the Constitution. Hannity and Carlson say so, too.”

  5. Avatar for theod theod says:

    better headline: Stupid Old Bald Liar Spouts Further Nonsense

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

119 more replies

Participants

Avatar for fgs Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for mondfledermaus Avatar for cervantes Avatar for steviedee111 Avatar for george_spiggott Avatar for mickeyg Avatar for ralph_vonholst Avatar for dickweed Avatar for barbara63 Avatar for schmed Avatar for darrtown Avatar for tena Avatar for texastwostep Avatar for dommyluc Avatar for docd Avatar for birdford Avatar for dannydorko Avatar for katscherger Avatar for thinski Avatar for drtv Avatar for rascal_crone Avatar for c_stedman Avatar for tomanthony

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: