What the Jeffrey Epstein Fight Is Really About. Plus. . .

It’s Thursday, July 17. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Cuomo and Adams set up Mamdani for an easy win in NYC; the weird thing about Trump’s SCOTUS winning streak; should your spouse tie your shoes?; and more.

But first: MAGA’s Epstein meltdown.

President Donald Trump continues to rail about what he’s now dubbed “the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax,” saying his “PAST supporters” have been duped by Democrats into believing that he’s hiding files related to the late New York financier and sex trafficker. “Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats [sic] work, don’t even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don’t want their support anymore!” he posted to Truth Social on Wednesday.

Those weaklings apparently include MAGA stalwart Tucker Carlson, who is hosting would-be historian Darryl Cooper on his program tonight for an Epstein special. It’s exceptionally unlikely Cooper has any insight here; a far-right influencer, he’s best known for arguing that Adolf Hitler wasn’t such a bad guy.

We’re not holding our breath, but one thing is clear: 10 days after the FBI and the Justice Department said there was nothing more to the Epstein case, MAGA’s all-out war over the issue shows no sign of slowing.

Today at The Free Press, we take a close look at both Epstein and how his ghost continues to haunt the president and his movement.

First off, Park MacDougald on how the split over Epstein has become the first sustained political crisis of Trump’s second term. But why is it this issue tearing Trump’s political coalition asunder—and why now?

Meanwhile, Freddie deBoer weighs in on why we’re so focused on Epstein. Yes, he argues, there might still be more to uncover, and the world might be much better off without him. But we also have to talk about the truth the scandal obscures: the horrific commonness of child sex abuse, and the many victims and predators who go ignored.

Next up, Daniel Bates—a reporter who has covered the Epstein scandal since 2011—takes a look at what we really know about the con man, his crimes, and his many victims.

And finally, Michael Lind takes a wider angle on the split between Trump and MAGA, and whether the president is really as at odds with his base as it seems.

Some conspiracy theories never die. In rare cases, that’s because the conspiracies are very real. Perhaps we’ll never know the full truth about Jeffrey Epstein. But this is everything we know today.

—The Editors

On Breaking History: Iran

On the latest episode of Breaking History, Eli Lake dives into the paradox at the heart of Iranian history: how a country that has revolted time and again always ends up governed by kings. From constitutionalists who helped install strongmen, to liberals who dismantled democracy from within, this week he traces the cycles of reform and repression that shaped today’s Iran.

• During an Oval Office meeting with House Republicans, Trump showed off a draft letter firing Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, and polled members on whether he should follow through. Trump, who appointed Powell to the post in 2017, later told reporters he’s “not planning” on removing Powell “unless he has to leave for fraud.” Although the two have squabbled over interest rates, Trump’s power to dismiss Powell is limited due to the Fed’s status as a quasi-independent agency.

• Syrian officials and Druze leaders announced a renewed ceasefire Wednesday after days of clashes and Israeli intervention threatened Syria’s fragile postwar stability. The news came after Israeli forces launched air strikes in Damascus. A similar truce collapsed the day before, and top Druze cleric Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri has already disavowed the new deal.

• The Trump administration deported five migrants to the small African nation of Eswatini on Tuesday, continuing “third-country deportations” after the Supreme Court allowed the policy to continue last month. The migrants, rejected by their home countries due to criminal records, were described by the Department of Homeland Security as “uniquely barbaric.”

• Top Biden aide Anthony Bernal invoked the Fifth Amendment on Wednesday, refusing to cooperate with a GOP-led probe into President Biden’s mental acuity and autopen use. He’s the second to do so, following Biden White House physician Kevin O’Connor. Bernal’s lawyer cited precedent and an overlapping DOJ investigation, calling any insinuation of guilt “flatly wrong.”

• The Trump administration is seeking access to voting machines and voter data ahead of the 2026 midterms, alarming election officials. In Colorado, a White House–linked consultant is asking clerks to allow federal inspections of equipment, while the DOJ has requested voter rolls from at least nine states.

• U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee attended Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial Wednesday, an unprecedented show of support as Trump pressures Israel to drop the case. Netanyahu faces bribery and fraud charges, with the trial stalled by years of legal delays.

• Larry Ellison has edged out Mark Zuckerberg to become the world’s second-richest person, with both worth $251 billion. His faster gains this year—$59 billion to Zuckerberg’s $43.4 billion—put him just behind Elon Musk, who’s worth $358 billion. Jeff Bezos and Steve Ballmer round out the top five.

• Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum said her administration may file a complaint in U.S. courts over a deadly immigration raid in California. Jaime Alanis Garcia, a Mexican farmworker in the U.S. illegally, died after falling 30 feet while fleeing federal agents last week. Sheinbaum called the incident “unacceptable” and said it’s under review by Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

• Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired two of his top aides amid internal clashes. The shake-up leaves key roles vacant as HHS faces scrutiny over its changing policies toward vaccines and food-safety issues.