EDITORIAL: The Epstein case demands full disclosure

Conspiracy theories fester in the darkness. Transparency and accountability represent the antidote. The Trump administration is now getting a quick lesson in this reality.

The White House last week found itself facing the wrath of many MAGA enthusiasts over its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. Epstein is the disgraced billionaire who died in 2019 in a jail cell after federal officials charged him with sex trafficking of minors. He had previously pleaded guilty in 2008 and served time in Florida for prostitution-related charges involving children.

His case became a cause celebre for many on the right, who smelled a “deep-state” cover-up involving his death and his many famous friends, who included Bill Clinton, Bill Gates and King Charles III. Two high-ranking law enforcement officials in the Trump White House — FBI Director Kash Patel and the agency’s deputy director, Dan Bongino — had been outspoken before they joined the administration in questioning the official version of Epstein’s demise. President Donald Trump and his attorney general, Pam Bondi, previously vowed to expose the truth once they were in office.

But now that they’ve seen the evidence, they offer a different perspective: Never mind. And the conspiracy theorists see another conspiracy.

On Monday, the Justice Department and FBI announced in a memo that there was no Epstein “client list” and that the man’s death while in captivity was indeed a suicide. “It is the determination of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted,” the memo read. It went on: “There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties.”

The reaction was predictable from those on both sides. Some on the right now believe Ms. Bondi and other members of the administration are knee-deep in a cover-up, while some Democrats are asking out loud whether the White House is complicit in an effort to whitewash embarrassing information about Mr. Trump, who knew Epstein in the aughts.

The president, for his part, was “visibly exasperated,” The New York Times reported, when asked about the matter early last week. “You still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?” he asked.

But there’s a way for Mr. Trump to clear this up immediately. If the FBI has closed the case, release the evidence. Of course, all efforts should be made to safeguard the victims — who have, unfortunately, been lost in the hullabaloo — but they, too, suffer from the endless debate created by the enthusiasm of government officials for secrecy and the shadows.

Just days after being sworn in for his second term, the president waded into another quicksand of conspiracy by signing an edict that ordered the government to release any remaining classified files about the assassination of JFK in 1963. The order also included files concerning the 1968 killings of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. It was the right thing to do. Mr. Trump should use the same template in the Epstein case.

Die-hard conspiracy believers will never be satisfied, it’s true. But full disclosure remains the best path for combating misinformation and setting the record straight.