However, an even more important piece of information came from a poll showing that the vast majority of Americans, including many Republicans, believe that Trump was aware of Epstein’s alleged crimes, writes CNN.
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released a series of photos pulled from Epstein’s archives on Friday. They feature, among others, Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Steve Bannon and Richard Branson. Although the images are attention-grabbing, Epstein’s connections to these people were already public knowledge and the photos themselves do not reveal much new information. It is important to note that none of them have been officially charged with a criminal offense in this case.
A Reuters-Ipsos poll found that only 18% of Americans think it is likely that Trump did not know about Epstein’s alleged crimes. On the other hand, as many as 60% of them think that it is “unlikely” or “not at all likely” that he was not informed. That’s a three-to-one ratio in favor of believing Trump knew something.
Even among Republicans, slightly more believe Trump was probably aware (39%) than believe he was unaware (34%). Trump, again, has not been accused of wrongdoing in the Epstein case and has denied any involvement.
This is not the only survey with such results. A Yahoo News-YouGov survey conducted back in July asked a more direct question: Did Trump participate in crimes with Epstein? As many as 48% of Americans answered in the affirmative, while only 24% expressed doubt. Even many Republicans did not rule out the possibility – only 55% of them immediately rejected such a claim.
These data are astonishing: three-quarters of Americans tend to believe that the President of the United States knew about or even participated in crimes with a notorious pedophile.
This public sentiment suggests that the upcoming release of the documents could be politically damaging to the president, even if no concrete evidence emerges. The White House called the release of the photos a “Democratic hoax,” arguing that the emails “prove absolutely nothing, other than the fact that President Trump did nothing wrong.”
Part of the reason for this opinion may lie in the general belief among Americans that powerful people tend to commit crimes. Polls have previously shown that a majority of voters believe Trump has committed “serious federal crimes.”
However, unlike his indictments or the Ukraine scandal, there is no hard evidence of Trump’s involvement in the Epstein case. Therefore, suspicions are probably also based on Trump’s own behavior. His misleading statements about his past relationship with Epstein and his slow admission of knowledge about Ghislaine Maxwell, who recruited the minor Virginia Giuffre from Mar-a-Lago, certainly contributed to the impression that he is hiding something, reports Index.hr.
Add to that Epstein’s e-mails released last month, in which he himself suggested that Trump knew about the girls. “Of course he knew about the girls…” Epstein stated in 2019. In another message from 2011, he called Trump “a dog that didn’t bark.”
Given all of the above, it’s no surprise that many Americans believe in the worst-case scenario. With less than seven days until the deadline for the release of the Justice Department’s documents, these are numbers that Trump certainly does not want to see, and which only heighten the political danger for him stemming from the Epstein affair.
(Vijesti.ba)
