Fox News: Jeffery Epstein? I Don't Know Her
A condensed overview of 16 hours of Fox News for the week ending 7/13/25
Last week Fox News tried desperately to avoid a story involving Donald J. Trump, a slew of conspiracy theories and a deceased serial abuser of underage girls. On July 7th the Department of Justice released an unsigned memo that stated plainly that the cause of Jeffery Epstein’s death was suicide and there was no list of powerful men associated with the billionaire who engaged in illicit behavior with minors.
The DOJ also said there was not enough evidence to bring charges “against uncharged third parties,” and that “no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.”
A segment of Trump’s MAGA base was livid as Attorney General Pam Bondi, the FBI Director Kash Patel and his Deputy Director Dan Bongino had made promises that the secrets surrounding the deceased billionaire’s crimes, the so called ‘Epstein client list’ long hidden by the nefarious deep state would finally be revealed under their leadership.
In February Pam Bondi implied there was a list and even gave out binders labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1” and “Declassified” to popular rightwing influencers. Within hours the propagandists figured out most of the information in their shiny white binders had already been disclosed to the public.
Fox News didn’t know how to spin this one. If the network told its viewers there was no list it would destroy elaborate theories promoted by influencers and propagandists that helped get Trump elected. If Fox said the list did exist it would ruin the credibility of Pam Bondi, Dan Bongino and Kash Patel.
There was also the possibility that if a list did exist Donald J. Trump’s name was all over it.
The network largely ignored the memo and hoped it would go away. There was no mention of Jeffery Epstein on “Fox & Friends,” and only passing mentions of it on “The Five.” Laura Ingraham only discussed it on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before dropping it completely.
Trump seemed nervous when asked about the list by a reporter then begged his followers to move on from the scandal. He later said the files must be fabricated “by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration.”
I don’t have the space to include all of the Trump admin. statements about the release of the “Epstein files” but Azi Paybarah at the Washington Post curated a comprehensive list.
Shows I covered last week:
Fox & Friends
The Five
The Ingraham Angle
My View with Lara Trump
Trump “If I see Something I Like I Take It”
Before I unpack why Trump might want to protect a deceased sexual predator who once had a close relationship with, I want to address something Trump said last week during a cabinet meeting.
“If I go into the State Department or Department of Commerce or Treasury, if I see anything that I like, I'm allowed to take it. I was telling Marco I see this gorgeous clock. Grandfather clock. I'd love to take that clock out and put it in the cabinet room,” said Trump.
Ingraham found Trump’s comment amusing and she repeated it on her Thursday evening broadcast of “The Ingraham Angle.”
“Raymond, if I see it, I can take it. I can take it, I guess. Watch out. . . Remember, Raymond. If I see it, I can take it,” said Ingraham.
I couldn’t help but think of the leaked audio clip from “Access Hollywood” filmed in 2005 that The Washington Post released about a month before the 2016 presidential election. The audio clip included a candid hot mic moment between Trump and Billy Bush, then host on ‘Access Hollywood.’
“I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. You just. I don't know. Know? And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything,” said Trump.
“Whatever you want,” said Bush.
“Grab him by the pussy. I can do anything,” said Trump.
Before that brief exchange Trump included lewd language about a married TV presenter.
“I did try and fuck her. She was married. I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn’t get there. And she was married. Then all of a sudden, I see her, she’s now got the big phony tits and everything. She’s totally changed her look. I’ve gotta use some Tic Tacs, just in case I start kissing her. You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful,”
CNN included another example of Trump’s mindset of ‘seeing something and taking it.’
In 2001, Tasha Dixon was a Miss Arizona competing in the USA pageant. She was only 18 years old when Trump burst into a dressing room full of half-dressed and naked women. CNN interviewed Dixon about her experience a couple weeks before the 2016 presidential election.
“Our first introduction to him was when we were at the dress rehearsal and half naked, changing into our bikinis,” said Dixon. “To have the owner come waltzing in when we're naked or half naked in a very physically vulnerable position, and then to have the pressure of the, you know, the people that worked for him telling, telling us to go find our fawn all over him, go walk up to him, talk to him, get his attention. Who do you complain to? He owns the pageant, so there's no one to complain to. Everyone there works for him,” said Dixon.
Trump also bragged about barging into dressing rooms during an appearance on Howard Stern’s radio show in 2005.
“And I'll go backstage before a show, and everyone's getting dressed and ready and everything else. And, you know, no men are anywhere, and I'm allowed to go in because I'm the owner of the pageant, and therefore I'm inspecting it like everything's good,” said Trump.
As of July 2025 twenty-seven women have accused Trump of sexual assault or some form of aggressive sexual harassment. The earliest accusation against Trump was made by a woman who claimed her groped her on an airplane in the late 1970s.
An Edited Interview with Donald J. Trump
Last June Trump sat down with the cast of “Fox & Friends Weekend” for his first extended interview after he was found guilty on 34 criminal counts in a case involving the falsifying of business records in order to conceal his illegal scheme to corrupt the 2016 election.
During the interview on June 2, 2024, Fox News edited an answer that Rachel Campos-Duffy asked Trump about Jeffrey Epstein.
Campos Duffy: So, if you were president, would you declassify? You can answer yes or no to this. Would you declassify the 9/11 files? Yeah. Would you declassify JFK files?
Trump: Yeah. I did. I did a lot of it.
Campos Duffy: Would you declassify the Epstein files?
Trump: Yeah, yeah, I would.
This is where Fox News decided to cut off Trump’s answer. This was Trump’s full answer which aired once on June 3, 2024 and in audio form for “The Will Cain Podcast.”
Trump: I guess I would. I think that less so because, you know, you don't know. It's you don't want to affect people's lives if it's phony stuff in there, because it's a lot of phony stuff with that whole world. But I think I would, or at least.
Campos Duffy: Do you think that would restore trust to help restore trust?.
Trump: Yeah. I don't know about Epstein so much as I do the others. Certainly about the way he died. It will be interesting to find out what happened there, because that was a weird situation and the cameras didn't happen to be working, etc., etc. but yeah, I'd go a long way toward that one. The other stuff I would.
Why Would Trump Want to Protect Jeffery Epstein?
Trump’s friendship with Epstein dates back to at least the late 1980’s. The two men were known to socialize with each other at parties in Florida and Manhattan.
In 2002 Trump boasted that he had a 15-year long relationship with Jefferey Epstein.
“I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it — Jeffrey enjoys his social life,” said Trump.
Trump’s name appeared seven times in the passenger logs for Epstein’s private jet nicknamed the Lolita Express.
One of the Epstein’s Victims Worked at Mar-a-Lago
Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most outspoken victims, worked as a spa attendant at Mar-a-Lago in 2000 when she was approached by Epstein’s longtime girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. Giuffre was only 16-years-old at the time.
Giuffre claimed she later went on to work for Epstein as a staff masseuse where she was instructed by him to have sex with several wealthy and prominent men including former politicians.
She also claimed Epstein paid her to have sex with Prince Andrew multiple times. Although the Prince denied any wrongdoing he ended up paying Giuffre an undisclosed settlement in a civil lawsuit reported to be about $16.3 million.
Giuffre passed away by suicide on April 25, 2025.
Trump claimed he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago although it’s unclear exactly when or why Trump’s once close friend was barred from his resort.
In 2016 an Anonymous Woman Accused Trump and Epstein of Raping Her When She was 13.
The link to her lawsuit can be found here.
This document is a complaint filed in federal court alleging that Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein committed acts of rape, sexual misconduct, assault, battery, and other crimes against Jane Doe when she was 13 years old. The complaint states that Trump and Epstein held parties in New York City where they sexually abused Jane Doe and other underage girls, and threatened violence against them and their families if they spoke out. Jane Doe is seeking damages for physical and emotional harm suffered as a result of the alleged crimes.
She dropped the lawsuit due to death threats and fears for her safety.
Epstein Got a Sweetheart Deal - Trump Hired the Prosecutor
In 2008 Jeffrey Epstein faced criminal charges for various crimes related to the sexual abuse and trafficking of underage girls in Palm Beach, Florida. He was given an extremely light sentence in a plea deal negotiated by federal prosecutor Alex Acosta.
Federal investigators found 30 alleged underage victims as part of their initial criminal indictment. Prosecutors in Miami entered into a non-prosecution agreement with Epstein where he only plead guilty to two prostitution-related charges according to reporting by ABC News.
Epstein only served 13 months of an 18-month sentence in county jail which included a work release during the day. In 2020 the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility concluded that Acosta showed ‘poor judgment’ when he issued the plea deal for Epstein.
Trump hired Acosta as Secretary of Labor during his first term as president. Acosta ended up resigning this position over criticism of how he handled the Epstein case.
Trump and Epstein Have Lawyers in Common
Alan Dershowitz, a common guest on Fox News and supporter of Donald J. Trump, helped Epstein secure the non-prosecution agreement in 2008. Dershowitz later went on to represent Trump during his first impeachment trial.
Giuffre claimed she had sex with Dershowitz when she was underage. She later dropped her lawsuit against him.
Dershowitz denied the allegations and later sued Giuffre for defamation. He later also agreed to drop his lawsuit, according to the court filing by lawyers for both sides.
In 2019 right before he died Jefferey Epstein hired David Schoen who later went on to represent Donald J. Trump in his second impeachment trial.
“I was hired to lead Jeffrey Epstein’s defense as his criminal lawyer nine days before he died. He sought my advice for months before that. I can say authoritatively, unequivocally and definitively that he had no information to hurt President Trump. I specifically asked him,” said Schoen about the relationship between the men.
Trump Wished Epstein’s Accomplice Well After She was Arrested
In July 2020 Trump offered warm words for Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime romantic partner after she faced federal charges for helping Epstein groom, recruit, and sexually abuse underage girls.
When a journalist asked Trump if he expected Maxwell to go public with a list of men who were accused of being involved with Epstein’s sex trafficking he answered,
“I don’t know. I haven’t really been following it too much. I just wish her well, frankly. I’ve met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach, and I guess they lived in Palm Beach. But I wish her well, whatever it is.”
Ghislaine Maxwell is currently serving 20 years in prison for her role in a scheme to sexual exploit and abuse multiple minor girls with Jeffrey Epstein over the course of a decade.
In an audio recording conducted by journalist and author Micheal Wolff, Epstein boasted that Trump had sex with his current wife for the first time on his private jet.
How Did Their Relationship End?
According to multiple sources the two billionaires fell out over a dispute over a property in Palm Springs.
In the 100 hours of audio recordings compiled by Michael Wolff the disgraced Epstein claimed to have insider information on the inner workings in the White House. Representatives for Trump have disputed Epstein’s claims.
Laura Ingraham Opened the Pandora’s Box
The only show I covered last week that explored the controversy surrounding the Epstein case was “The Ingraham Angle'.” On Monday Ingraham briefly broke down the backstory surrounding Epstein.
“Claims of rampant pedophilia and rumors of cover ups to protect top officials and business, politics and entertainment. Rumors about cameras and every room of his ‘Depravity Island.’ Now, we all know Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his jail cell. The circumstances at the time seemed suspicious, and for years, Americans have wanted answers. But now, to the shock of many the DOJ and FBI are claiming there is no client list. Now, some of the most prominent voices in MAGA world are crying foul,” said Ingraham.
The Fox News host also included surveillance video from inside the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in New York City where Epstein committed suicide.
“The DOJ and FBI have also concluded that Epstein killed himself, hung himself, and released this video to prove it. Sort of. Well, the video itself is grainy and missing about a minute at 11:59 p.m. on August 9th, 2019, which DOJ says is due to irregular daily system reset. Now, the video also doesn't show the door to Epstein's cell, but we do see what appears to be his last moments outside of it. The DOJ inspector general says this blurry figure in orange is Jeffrey Epstein, being escorted for the final time to a cell at 7:49 p.m., nearly 11 hours later, an officer would find him dead.”
Experts at “Wired” initially found that the so called raw footage of the surveillance camera positioned near Epstein’s cell was actually two clips stitched together in Adobe Premiere Pro, a professional video editing program.
The same video forensic experts later found that one of the source clips was missing nearly three minutes of footage. Wired sent a request to the DOJ for further information about how the video was put together. The DOJ referred Wired to the FBI. The FBI declined to comment.
One Conspiracy of Many about Jeffery Epstein
Later in the same program Ingraham invited Michael Shellenberger, a self-proclaimed journalist who has a habit of promoting false stories and conspiracy theories to talk about the scandal.
“Kash Patel and Dan Bongino say last year and the year before, Kash Patel said that, that FBI and DOJ wouldn't do anything under the Biden administration, that it was up to Republicans in Congress to do it and that DOJ and FBI wouldn't do anything about it because of who was on the list. Dan Bongino then said that it was his opinion that a foreign intelligence agency was behind what is not just a pedophilia ring, but really a sex blackmail operation, or what is known in the intelligence community as a honeypot. You know, he said that a couple of years ago, but that's not even a fringe view. People sort of suggest that this is sort of a conspiracy theory. Laura, I think it's important to remember there are left wing journalists, right wing journalists, and mainstream news reporters, including Miami Herald, who have all come to the same conclusion that this was a sex blackmail operation aimed at entrapping powerful political people Bill Gates may be the most famous, but also politicians on camera with underage young women. And that was that's what appears to be the cameras in all the other rooms. So when Attorney General Bondi talks about tens of thousands of hours of video, I think it's understandable that the perception people had was that it was the videos of the blackmailing, not just of downloaded pornography,” said Shellenberger.
Ingraham abruptly cut him off.
“Michael, thank you very much,” said Ingraham.
Although Shellenberger said a lot in his statement he didn’t offer any concrete evidence to support his claims.
The Missing Minute - The Death of Jeffrey Epstein
On Wednesday Ingraham invited Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch and Mollie Hemingway of The Federalist to discuss the controversy.
“And then we have interviews with former mobsters who actually was in the same jail as Epstein and had kind of a shocking claim. Watch,” said Ingraham.
Her producers included a clip of Michael Franzese, formerly of the Colombo crime family, discussing his time in the same facility on ‘A Current Affair’, an Australian news program.
“Jeffrey Epstein, what had to be a magician to try to hang himself in that cell? I was in that show. You just. There's no way that there's nothing on the ceiling. The bed is this high. I couldn't even go to the restroom without them walking back and forth and having me on camera. You know? There's no way he committed suicide.”
Fitton: You know, when Pam Bondi yesterday said that video they released isn't conclusive.
Ingraham: But it's a reset. That minute is a regular reset.
Fitton: And they're still looking for that minute. And to release video that doesn't show what happened in the cell isn't terribly persuasive. I'm not sure what they were expecting there. The fact is there are two competing forensic investigations, one by Epstein's family, which suggests that was a homicide and one by the examiner up in New York. He says it was a suicide. So given those issues to say, because the video doesn't show one way or the other, whether someone went in there to conclude, oh, well, there's nothing to investigate. Seems odd. And they also said, we're not going to give you any more documents well there are too many conspiracy theories out there. And I don't like to be dissed like that. And Americans, I think, by and large, have questions about Epstein. And to be told that, you know.
Ingraham: I think Kash Patel made that point like a year before being nominated.
On Friday Fitton’s organization Judicial Watch filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice for all interviews, conversations and other records provided to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) by Jeffrey Epstein.
A Problem for Kash Patel, Dan Bongino and Pam Bondi
Patel, Bongino and Bondi all promised Trump’s conspiracy theory obsessed base some type of evidence that would link Epstein to crimes involving powerful and influential men.
Bongino and Patel spent years promoting various conspiracy theories about Epstein’s death and the so-called Epstein list. To turn around now and tell their supporters that there’s no list and no murder or cover up is a slap in the face to a portion of Trump’s base.
Ingraham addressed this during the same segment with Fitton and Hemingway.
Ingraham: Tom. Here's what Kash Patel said about that Epstein client list shortly after he was nominated for FBI director. Watch.
Ingraham’s producers included a media clip from Benny Johnson’s X account from 2023. Johnson is a popular rightwing infelucener who was duped into working for a Russian propaganda company without his knowledge. That scandal was uncovered in September 2024 by the Department of Justice.
Johnson: You say that the FBI has Epstein's list. They're sitting on it. That doesn't seem like something you should do. You're protecting the world's foremost predator. Why is the FBI protecting the greatest pederast? The largest scale pederast in human history.
Patel: Simply because of who's on that list. . .What the hell are the House Republicans doing? They have the majority. You can't get the list. Put on your big boy pants and let us know who the pedophiles are.
Ingraham: Tom. He sounded pretty definitive there. So what changed?
Fitton: I think they decided for political purposes, they didn't want to include the individuals who are on these lists and put them in the public domain. And they were concerned that some of them may or may not have done something, warranting the disclosure. I mean, that's that's the most charitable interpretation, you know, but there is a list. There's no doubt. I mean, they talk about in the memo they wrote. Well, there's no, incriminating client list. But what does that mean? I want the non-incriminating client list. And of course, a client list is a term of art. Right? Where where are his associates? Where is the list of contacts? You know, we asked under our a lawsuit. Pam Bondi, give us the documents that you say you were looking at. Give us documents about the release of these documents. You said the FBI was obstructing the release. They came back to us, said we have nothing.
An ‘Epstein list’ that included 166 names circulated on social media sites in early 2024. Using a number of different methods experts debunked it as fake.
Stories Fox News Ignored
Every week I compare the hours I’ve watched on Fox News to five hours of the PBS News Hour. The following list are stories that PBS covered that were not mentioned on Fox News. Source - PBS News Hour transcripts. Due to space this list has been truncated.
Updates in the Ukraine-Russia War
Russia unleashed a barrage of more than 100 drones across Ukraine last Monday. Ukrainian officials said these strikes and others killed at least 11 people and injured more than 80 across the country. That includes Ukraine's second largest city of Kharkiv. Ukrainian leaders say Russia has fired more than 2000 drones, missiles and glide bombs, injuring scores of people in population centers in the past week. (PBS News Hour)
Europe's top human rights court found that Russia committed widespread violations of international law in Ukraine dating back more than a decade. That includes its role in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over separatist-controlled Ukraine in 2014. The court also found Russia responsible in cases of murder, torture and sexual violence against Ukrainian civilians, as well as the kidnappings of Ukrainian children. (PBS News Hour)
Last Thursday in Ukraine, at least two people died in an overnight Russian missile and drone attack lasting nearly 10 hours. At least 22 people were wounded and thousands spent the night sheltering in an underground metro station. It comes a day after Russia launched its largest barrage of the war so far. (PBS News Hour)
Updates in the Israel-Hamas War
According to a World Food Program report, nearly half-a-million Gazans are expected to face catastrophic hunger. Aid is scarce and often it is an immense risk to collect it. Over 500 Palestinians have been killed near aid distribution points in the past six weeks. Thousands of Israelis nationwide there protested this week to stop the fighting and release the hostages. Many are calling for the violence to end, but bloodshed is still a part of daily life. (PBS News Hour)
Last Thursday European officials reached a deal with Israel to allow more food and fuel into Gaza. The E.U.'s top diplomat said the agreement could result in more crossings open, aid and food trucks entering Gaza, repair of vital infrastructure and protection of aid workers. It comes as local hospitals and aid workers say Israeli airstrikes killed at least 36 Palestinians. That included 15 people waiting outside a medical clinic, many of them children. Israel says it was targeting a militant when it struck near the facility. (PBS News Hour)
Measles cases in the U.S. are at their highest level in three decades. That's according to CDC data showing 1,288 cases so far this year. That compares to fewer than 300 cases for all of 2024. At least three people have died and dozens have been hospitalized in outbreaks that began in undervaccinated communities in West Texas and nearby areas. Experts say the measles vaccine is highly effective in preventing infection, but data show vaccination rates have dipped among children since the COVID-19 pandemic. (PBS News Hour)
For the first time in four decades, the Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the PKK, is laying down its arms and says it will end its insurgency against Turkey. The separatist group’s disbandment comes after its imprisoned leader announced an end to its 41-year armed struggle and a transition to democratic politics. (PBS News Hour)
Presidential advisor and former News Hour contributor David Gergen died at 83 after being diagnosed with Lewy body dementia. Throughout his career, Gergen served four presidents, both Democrats and Republicans, and he spent many Friday nights offering his insights and analysis on the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. (PBS News Hour)
By the Numbers
