Former President Donald Trump is named in the latest release of court documents related to deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, spurring his supporters to go into damage control.
On Monday, emails sent in 2016 by alleged Epstein victim Sarah Ransome to then-DailyMail.com columnist Maureen Callahan detailed allegations that Trump had engaged in sexual intercourse with “many” of Epstein’s victims.
Not only that, Ransome claimed that a friend of hers who had slept with Trump even had video of the encounter. Ransome alleged that Epstein had recorded not only Trump having sex but other high-profile figures as well, including former President Bill Clinton, billionaire Richard Branson, and Prince Andrew.
After Callahan failed to report on the allegations, Ransome retracted all of her previous statements in a subsequent email.
“I shouldn’t have contacted you and I’m sorry I wasted your time,” Ransome wrote. “It’s not worth coming forward and I will never be heard anyhow and only bad things will happen as a consequence of me going public and I know this to be true.”
“We categorically reject all allegations made by Sarah Ransome,” a Virgin Group spokesperson said about Branson appearing in the new documents. “In 2016, Ms Ransome retracted her claims and then in 2019 after settling her claims with Epstein and Maxwell, she also admitted to the New Yorker that the ‘tapes’ had been ‘invented.’ The allegations are baseless and unfounded. The actions of Jeffrey Epstein were abhorrent and we support the right to justice for the many victims impacted by his abuse.”
In an article in the New Yorker, Ransome had said she invented the “tapes” as a way to draw attention to Epstein’s case.
The documents in question do not prove the guilt or innocence of any party, but are instead part of the discovery process of a civil suit Epstein survivor Virginia Guffrie filed against Ghislaine Maxwell that was later settled.
Trump has repeatedly denied any involvement in Epstein’s illegal activities. In the wake of the initial document release, supporters of his boasted that while some left-wing figures were in the documents, the only mention of Trump was in response to one victim saying she didn’t see him receive a “massage” ever.
Supporters of Trump responded to the damning allegations in numerous ways, including ignoring them altogether.
Far-right activist Laura Loomer, for example, opted to name all the men who had allegedly been filmed having sex except Trump.
Over at the conspiracy blog Gateway Pundit, coverage of the news focused entirely on Clinton and failed to make any mention whatsoever of the allegations against Trump.
“BREAKING: Another Round of Epstein Docs Released – AND THERE ARE ALLEGED SEX TAPES OF BILL CLINTON WHICH CLEARLY IDENTIFY HIS FACE,” the outlet wrote.
Despite their fervent support for all previous allegations, Trump supporters were quick to shift the blame as soon as they learned the former president had been named.
“If the FBI had anything like that on Trump, we would have known before now,” one user wrote. “I call BS.”
Others said the same, arguing that all allegations against Trump must be untrue, while allegations against Clinton and other left-wing figures must be accurate.
“Considering everything they are trying to take Trump down, this would have been revealed a long ago,” another said. “There’s no evidence to prove it.”
However, the sentiment is inaccurate, as Trump was named in a lawsuit over an alleged sexual assault of a girl at Epstein’s New York City mansion. The suit was later withdrawn.
Trump supporters even attempted to call into question the credibility of Ransome, while simultaneously arguing in support of her allegations against Clinton.
“She’s being paid to throw Trump into the mix…” another said, despite Ransome’s emails dating back to 2015.
The post has been updated with comment from a spokesperson for Richard Branson’s company Virgin Group.
