Even if you’re sick of hearing about Jeffrey Epstein – and who among us hasn’t felt that way at times – President Donald Trump and his team have been far more fixated on the relentless controversy than they have ever acknowledged.That (and plenty of other juicy revelations) is based on three years of reporting for a forthcoming book."Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump" is by New York Times correspondents Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan and slated to be published in two weeks.Whether you’re a Trump supporter or detractor, the book is packed with facts that make clear that most or all of the major participants cooperated with them.
The president also granted Haberman and Swan an hour-long interview in March.One major takeaway: Even as Trump and White House officials repeatedly tried to dismiss the endless brawl, which stems from Trump’s long-ago friendship with the late pedophile and sex offender, as old or irrelevant news, they repeatedly met in the Situation Room to try to manage the crisis.WHY MELANIA TRUMP IS DENYING ALLEGED SMEARS RELATED TO JEFFREY EPSTEIN–AND WANTS VICTIMS TO TESTIFYTeam Trump has been far more fixated on the Jeffrey Epstein case than has been acknowledged.(Getty Images)In the initial meetings, Vice President JD Vance argued strenuously that more detailed allegations about Trump – some suspect or totally unconfirmed – were going to surface eventually, and they should get out ahead of the story.Some argued that Vance "appeared panicked," according to the book, and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who led the meetings, told others he was a conspiracy theorist.
But Vance said Congress would force the release of the complete Epstein files no matter what they did.In my view, the vice president was proven right.REVEALED: TRUMP CALLED POLICE CHIEF TO SUPPORT EPSTEIN PROBE, AND LAWMAKERS NAMED 6 MEN SHIELDED FROM EXPOSUREAt another meeting, talk turned to whether Trump should pardon Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein...