The Jeffrey Epstein scandal just slipped beyond the control of Donald Trump and Bill Barr

| 9:09 am EDT August 24, 2019
Dear Palmer Report readers, we all understand the difficult era we're heading into. Major media outlets are caving to Trump already. Even the internet itself and publishing platforms may be at risk. But Palmer Report is nonetheless going to lead the fight. We're funding our 2025 operating expenses now, so we can keep publishing no matter what happens. I'm asking you to contribute if you can, because the stakes are just so high. You can donate here.

The death of Donald Trump’s old friend Jeffrey Epstein, while he was in the custody of Trump’s Department of Justice, has faded from the headlines this past week as Trump has begun declaring himself the “King of Israel” while trying to buy Greenland, and other objectively insane behavior. But the Epstein scandal is still playing out nonetheless – and it just took a turn that Trump and his Attorney General Bill Barr won’t like.

It’s still not entirely clear how much or little control Bill Barr has over what’s been taking place in the probe into Jeffrey Epstein’s death. Barr keeps making suspicious moves, such as replacing the head of the Bureau of Prisons with one of his own lackeys, as if he’s trying to cover something up. But there’s still no compelling evidence that Epstein’s death was anything other than a suicide.

It’s been unclear if recent moves, such as the raid of Epstein’s private island home, have been a result of the FBI working around Barr, or a result of Barr continuing to carry out a coverup. Either way, something just happened that Trump and Barr can’t control.

Shimon Prokupecz of CNN has revealed that the government of France has opened an investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. We think this is important for two reasons. First, it’s potentially bad news for Epstein’s alleged co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, as her friends are claiming that she’s been hanging out in France since Epstein’s arrest (outsiders have claimed she’s in Boston or Los Angeles). Second, if France is running a legitimate investigation into Epstein’s crimes, it’ll make it very difficult for Donald Trump and Bill Barr to push a phony narrative about the crimes.