In conspiratorial pro-Trump spaces online, arguments rage over the US president's approach to the long-running saga.

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.

By tapping into other grievances, President Trump managed to turn one of the most fractious moments for his base into a unifying one.

"When he's ready, he'll let them out," Ed DeLucca, 72, told the BBC, saying he hoped Trump would bring the documents to light. For Mr DeLucca, the rumoured files would ultimately be delivered much like any other Trump promise, such as closing the border or mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.

Maria Farmer, one of the many women assaulted by deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein in her youth as part of his trafficking operation, spoke out about how all of the explosion of controversy around the case is re-traumatizing her in an interview with MSNBC's Jen Psaki on Thursday — and she called out those trying to rehabilitate Epstein's

When the Trump administration, not known for understatement, finally engaged with the Jeffrey Epstein controversy, it did so with an understatement of the ages, seeking court approval for the release of grand-jury transcripts because it qualified “as a matter of public interest.”

Republicans are furious with the attorney general’s handling of the Epstein files, which has consumed Washington for weeks.

MSNBC anchor Chris Hayes tore into MAGA influencers attempting to use the potential testimony of deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein's convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, to build a narrative that excuses President Donald Trump's involvement in the scandal.