Mediaite founder Dan Abrams predicted Thursday that the political uproar surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein files “will be forgotten” within a year, even as debate currently rages over why the documents remain sealed.
The take came a day after House Democrats released three Epstein emails, part of more than 23,000 documents recently obtained by the House Oversight Committee, that referred to President Donald Trump as the “dog that hasn’t barked” and talked about how an alleged victim “spent hours at my house with him.”
Republicans on the committee furiously accused the Democrats of trying to “create a fake narrative to slander President Trump,” and later published the full tranche of documents, which media organizations have been digging through since.
On CNN’s NewsNight, host Kate Bolduan ran back a clip of comedian Jon Stewart arguing on his podcast that the emails would not hurt the president.
Abrams said he agreed with Stewart “to some degree” but warned panelists of the “distinction” between the idea that the files will produce “evidence” of criminality versus simply “embarrassing” revelations about Trump’s past association with Epstein.
Speaking after Stewart’s clip rolled back, Abrams began by pointing out there was a clear contradiction between earlier commitments and the continued secrecy:
Look, I think that this is a perfect example of it, right? The question you asked before the break, is this a cover-up, right? Of course it‘s a cover-up. How do we know? We know because Pam Bondi said she was going to release all of the documents. The FBI said they were going to release. Kash Patel was calling for the release, and now they‘re not releasing the documents.
Stressing, however, that speculation about the president’s criminal exposure is not supported by those familiar with the underlying evidence, he continued:
Now, does that mean that that‘s because Donald Trump engaged in criminal activity? No. In fact, you talk to the people who have actually talked to all the victims in this case, and they will tell you that they don‘t have any evidence of Donald Trump engaging in any criminal activity.
Abrams said the likely hesitation for Trump lies not in illegality but in unflattering details that would inevitably prompt scrutiny.
“There would also be probably evidence of things that are embarrassing for Donald Trump, things he doesn‘t want out there,” he said.
On that basis, he predicted, the controversy will not endure: “I think by 2026, this issue will be forgotten.”
Watch above via CNN.
The post Dan Abrams Predicts Epstein Files Fight ‘Will Be Forgotten’ by Next Year first appeared on Mediaite.
