Americans weigh in on Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein case
Donald Trump, President of the US (photo: Getty Images)
Most Americans believe that US President Donald Trump is trying to cover up the crimes of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. As for Trump’s own involvement in the crimes, opinions are evenly split, according to polling data from The Economist.
Read also: Trump mentioned in new Epstein files: Met with 14-year-old girl
Thus, exactly half of the respondents believe the US president was involved in the deceased criminal’s illegal activities. Meanwhile, 53% said they think Donald Trump is attempting to conceal Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes.
More statistics: 29% disagreed with the claim that Trump is covering up the late financier’s crimes, while 30% are convinced he had no connection to them.
At the same time, Trump has not faced any formal criminal charges related to the Epstein case. The US president has previously firmly denied any wrongdoing and stated that he cut ties with the financier many years ago.
Sharp partisan divide
The poll revealed a deep split along party lines:
- 91% of Democrats believe Trump tried to cover up Epstein’s crimes, compared with 13% of Republicans who agree.
- 86% of Democrats are convinced of his involvement in illegal activities, while 67% of Republicans say he was not involved.
Criticism over the release of files
The Trump administration faced criticism over how it handled the investigation into the Epstein case.
Last year, Congress almost unanimously passed a law requiring the US Department of Justice to release all materials related to Epstein, allowing for redactions to protect the identities of victims. Trump signed the legislation after significant political pressure.
However, after the files were released, the department faced criticism: the documents were heavily redacted, and some information that could identify victims remained publicly accessible.
Only 24% of respondents approved of Trump’s actions in the investigation, while 57% disapproved.
The survey was conducted from February 13 to 16 among 1,682 US adults. The margin of error is approximately 3.1 percentage points.
Trump and the Epstein case
As is known, Donald Trump’s name has been mentioned multiple times in the case of sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein. Moreover, footage has circulated online showing the US president in the company of the late financier at various parties.
Trump himself denies any involvement in Epstein’s activities and claims he cut ties with him a long time ago. RBC-Ukraine recently reported that documents released in the US regarding the Epstein case contain information about a possible phone conversation involving Donald Trump.
Additionally, published emails from a new part of Jeffrey Epstein’s archive indicate that the financier, over several years, attempted to arrange a personal meeting with the leader Vladimir Putin.
